VI  B  RAR.Y 

OF   THE 

UN  I  VE.RSITY 
OF    ILLINOIS 


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HUMS  mma  SURVEY 


irn  this  book  on  or  bef 

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NEW  GUIDE  FOR  EMIGRANTS 

TO  THE 

WEST, 

CONTAINING    SKETCHES     OF 

MICHIGANj  OHIO,   INDIANA,   ILLINOIS,  MISSOURI, 
ARKANSAS,   WITH  THE  TERRITORY  OF  WIS- 
CONSIN  AND  THE  ADJACENT  FARTS. 


BY  J.   M.   PECK,  A.  M 

OF  ROCK  SPRING,  ILL. 


Second    Edition. 


BOSTON: 
GOULD,     KENDALL     &     LINCOLN 

FOR  SALE  BY  THE  BOOKSELLERS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

1  837. 


f /  7  7 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1836,  by 

GOULD,  KENDALL  &  LINCOLN, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


FOWER  PRESS  OK  WM.  S.  DAMRELL, 

39  Washington  Street,  Boston. 


\i.n 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    VIEW    OF    THE   VALLEY    OF    THE 

MISSISSIPPI. 

Page. 
Extent — Subdivisions — Population — Physical  Features 

—Rivers, 15 

CHAPTER  II. 

GENERAL  VIEW,  &c.,  CONTINUED. 
Animal,  Vegetable  and  Mineral  Productions — History 
— Prospective  Increase  of  Population, 36 

CHAPTER  III. 

CLIMATE. 

Comparative  View  of  the  Climate  with  the  Atlantic 
States — Diseases — Means  of  preserving  Health, ...  62 

CHAPTER   IV. 

CHARACTER,    MANNERS    AND   PURSUITS     OK 
THE  PEOPLE. 

Cotton  and  Sugar  Planters — Farmers — Population  of 
the  Cities  and  large  Towns — Frontier  Class — Hunt- 
ers and  Trappers — Boatmen, 107 


94605 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

PUBLIC  LANDS. 

Pago. 

System  of  Surveys — Meridian  and  Base  Lines — Town- 
ships— Diagram  of  a  Township,  surveyed  into 
Sections — Land  Districts  and  Offices — Preemption 
Rights — Military  Bounty  Lands — Taxes — Valuable 
Tracts  of  Country  unsettled, 135 

CHAPTER  VI. 

ABORIGINES. 

Conjecture  respecting  their  former  Numbers  and  Con- 
dition— Present  Number  and  State — Indian  Terri- 
tory appropriated  as  their  permanent  Residence — 
Plan  and  Operations  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment— Missionary  Efforts  and  Stations — Monuments 
and  Antiquities, 148 

CHAPTER  VII. 
WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA. 
Face  of  the  Country — Soil,  Agriculture  and  internal 
Improvements — Chief  Towns — Pittsburgh — Coal,  .  167 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

WESTERN  VIRGINIA. 
Sulphur,  Hot  and  Sweet  Springs — Chief  Towns, ....  180 

CHAPTER   IX. 

MICHIGAN. 

Extent — Situation — Boundaries — Face  of  the  Country 
— Rivers,  Lakes,  &c. — Soil  and  Productions — Sub- 
divisions— Counties Chief  Towns Education — 


CONTENTS.  V 

Pago. 

Projected  Improvements — Boundary  Dispute — Out- 
line of  the  Constitution, 184 

CHAPTER  X. 

OHIO. 
Boundaries — Divisions — Face  of  the  Country— Soil 

and  Prod  uctions Animals Minerals Financial 

Statistics — Canal  Fund — Expenditures — Land  Tax- 
es— School  Fund — Statistics — Canal  Revenues — 
Population  at  different  Periods — Rivers — Internal 
Improvements — Manufactures — Cities  and  Towns, 
Cincinnati,  Columbus — Education — Form  of  Gov- 
ernment— Antiquities — History, 198 

CHAPTER  XL 

INDIANA. 

Boundaries  and  Extent — Counties — Population  at  dif- 
ferent Periods — Face  of  the  Country — Sketch  of 
each  County — Form  of  Government — Finances — 

Internal  Improvements Manufactures — Education 

— History — General  Remarks, !  .  .  228- 

CHAPTER  XII. 

ILLINOIS. 

Boundaries  and  Extent — Face  of  the  Country  and 
Qualities  of  Soil — Inundated  Land — River  Bottoms, 
or  Alluvion — Prairies — Barrens — Forest,  or  timber- 
ed Land — Knobs,  Bluffs,  Ravines  and  Sink-holes — 
Rivers,  &c. — Animal,  Mineral  and  Vegetable  Pro- 
ductions— Manufactures — Civil  Divisions — Tabular 
View  of  the  Counties — Sketch  of  each  County — 


VI  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Towns — Projected  Improvements — Education — 
Government — General  Remarks, 256 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

MISSOURI. 

Extent  and  Boundaries — Civil  Divisions — Population 
at  different  Periods — Surface,  Soil  and  Produc- 
tions—Towns,   320 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

ARKANSAS. 

Situation  and  Extent — Civil  Divisions — Rivers — Face 
of  the  Country — Soil — Water — Productions — Cli- 
•mate — Minerals — State  of  Society, 328 

CHAPTER   XV. 

WISCONSIN. 

Boundaries  and  Extent — Rivers— Soil — Productions — 
Towns,  &c., 334 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

LITERARY  AND  RELIGIOUS  INSTITUTIONS. 
Colleges — Statistical  Sketch  of  each  Denomination — 
Field  for  Effort,  and  Progress  made, 340 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  EMIGRANTS. 
Canal,  Steam-boat  and  Stage  Routes— Other  Modes  of 
Travel— Expenses— Roads— Distances,  &c.,  .     .  ,  371 


INTRODUCTION. 


MUCH  has  been  published  already  about  the  WEST, — • 
the  GREAT  WEST, — the  VALLEY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  ; 
— but  no  portion  of  this  immense  and  interesting  region  is 
so  much  the  subject  of  inquiry,  and  so  particularly  excites 
the  attention  of  the  emigrant,  as  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Missouri  and  Michigan,  with  the  adjacent  territorial 
regions. 

All  these  States  have  come  into  existence,  as  such,  with 
the  exception  of  Ohio,  within  the  last  twenty  years;  and 
much  of  the  territory,  now  adorned  by  the  hand  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  spread  over  with  an  enterprising,  industrious  and 
intelligent  people, — the  field  of  public  improvements  in  ca- 
nals arid  railways, — of  colleges,  churches,  and  other  institu- 
tions,— was  the  hunting  ground  of  the  aborigines,  and  the 
scene  of  border  warfare.  These  States  have  been  unparal- 
leled in  their  growth,  both  in  the  increase  of  population 
and  property,  and  in  the  advance  of  intellectual  and  moral 
improvement.  Such  an  extent  of  forest  was  never  before 
cleared, — such  a  vast  field  of  prairie  was  never  before  sub- 
dued and  cultivated  by  the  hand  of  man,  in  the  same  short 
period  of  time.  Cities,  and  towns,  and  villages,  and  coun- 
ties, and  States,  never  before  rushed  into  existence  and 
made  such  giant  strides,  as  upon  this  field. 

"  Who  hath  heard  such  a  thing?  Who  hath  seen  such 
things?  Shall  the  earth  be  made  to  bring  forth  in  one 
day?  or  shall  a  nation  be  born  at  once1?""* 

*  Isaiah  6C: 3 


Vlll  INTRODUCTION. 

The  rapid  increase  of  population  will  be  exhibited  in  a 
tabular  form,  in  the  following  pages,  and  other  parts,  show- 
ing that  the  general  improvement  of  the  country,  and  the 
development  of  its  physical,  intellectual  and  moral  resources 
have  kept  pace  with  the  extension  of  settlements.  And 
such  are  its  admirable  facilities  for  commerce,  by  its  nu- 
merous navigable  rivers,  and  its  lines  of  canals,  some  of 
which  are  finished,  and  many  others  commenced  or  pro- 
jected,— such  the  richness  of  its  soil  and  the  variety  of  its 
productions, — such  the  genial  nature  of  its  climate, — the 
enterprise  of  its  population,  and  the  influence  it  must  soon 
wield  in  directing  the  destinies  of  the  whole  United  States, 
— as  to  render  the  GREAT  WEST  an  object  of  the  deepest 
interest  to  the  American  patriot.  To  the  philanthropist  and 
Christian,  the  character  and  manners,  the  institutions,  lit- 
erature and  religion  of  so  wide  a  portion  of  our  country, 
whose  mighty  energies  are  soon  to  exert  a  controlling  in- 
*  fluence  over  the  character  of  the  whole  nation,  and  in 
some  measure  of  the  world, — are  not  less  matters  of  mo- 
mentous concern. 

"  The  West  is  a  young  empire  of  mind,  and  power,  and 
wealth,  and  free  institutions,  rushing  up  to  a  giant  manhood 
with  a  rapidity  and  power  never  before  witnessed  below 
the  sun.  And  if  she  carries  with  her  the  elements  of  her 
preservation,  the  experiment  will  be  glorious, — the  joy  of 
the  nation, — the  joy  of  the  whole  earth,  as  she  rises  in  the 
majesty  of  her  intelligence,  and  benevolence,  and  enterprise, 
for  the  emancipation  of  the  world."* 

Amongst  the  causes  that  have  awakened  the  attention  of 
the  community  in  the  Atlantic  States  to  this  great  Valley, 
and  excited  the  desires  of  multitudes  to  remove  hither,  may 
be  reckoned  the  efforts  of  the  liberal  and  benevolent  to  aid 
the  West  in  the  immediate  supply  of  her  population  with 
the  Bible,  with  Sunday  schools,  with  religious  tracts,  with 
the  gospel  ministry,  and  to  lay  the  foundation  for  colleges 
and  other  literary  institutions.  Hundreds  of  families,  who 
might  otherwise  have  remained  in  the  crowded  cities  and 
densely  populated  neighborhoods  of  their  ancestors,  have 

*  Bocchcr. 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

had  their  attention  directed  to  these  States  as  a  permanent 
home.  And  thousands  more,  of  virtuous  and  industrious 
families,  would  follow,  and  fix  their  future  residence  on 
our  prairies,  and  in  our  western  forests,  cultivate  our  wild 
lands,  aid  in  building  up  our  towns  and  cities,  anfl  diffuse 
a  healthful,  moral  and  intellectual  influence  through  the 
mass  of  our  present  population,  could  they  feel  assured 
that  they  can  reach  some  portion  of  the  Western  Valley 
without  great  risk  and  expense,  provide  for  their  families 
comfortably,  and  not  be  swept  off  by  sickness,  or  over- 
whelmed by  suffering  beyond  what  is  incident  to  any  new 
country. 

The  author's  first  book,  c  A  GUIDE  FOR  EMIGRANTS,' 
&c.,  was  written  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1831,  to  an- 
swer the  pressing  call  then  made  for  information  of  these 
Western  States,  but  more  especially  that  of  Illinois; — but 
many  of  its  particulars,  as  to  the  character  and  usages  of 
the  people,  manners  and  customs,  modes  of  erecting  build- 
ings, general  characteristics  and  qualities  of  soil,  produc- 
tions, &c.,  were  applicable  to  the  West  generally. 

Since  that  period,  brief  as  it  has  been,  wide  and  rapid 
changes  have  been  made,  population  has  rapidly  augment- 
ed, beyond  that  of  any  former  period  of  the  same  extent; 
millions  of  acres  of  the  public  domain,  then  wild  and  hardly 
explored,  have  been  brought  into  market;  settlements  and 
counties  have  been  formed,  and  populous  towns  have 
sprung  up,  where,  at  that  time,  the  Indian  and  wild  beast 
had  possession;  facilities  for  intercommunication  have  been 
greatly  extended,  and  distant  places  have  been  brought 
comparatively  near;  the  desire  to  emigrate  to  the  West  has 
increased,  and  every  body  in  the  Atlantic  States  has  bocqrne 
interested,  and  inquires  about  the  great  Valley.  That  re- 
spectable place,  so  much  the  theme  of  declamation  and  in- 
quiry abroad,  "  the  Far  West,"  has  gone  from  this  region 
towards  the  setting  sun.  Its  exact  locality  has  not  yet 
been  settled,  but  probably  it  may  soon  be  found  along  the 
Gulf  of  California,  or  near  Nootka  Sound.  And,  if  distance 
is  to  be  measured  by  time  and  the  facility  of  intercourse, 
we  are  now  several  hundred  miles  nearer  the  Atlantic  coast 
than  twenty  years  since.  Ten  years  more,  and  the  facilities 


Xll  INTRODUCTION. 

surprisingly  ignorant  of  the  actual  condition,  resources,  so- 
ciety, manners  of  the  people,  and  even  the  geography  of 
these  States  and  Territories.  The  author  is  aware  of  the 
difficulty  of  conveying  entirely  correct  ideas  of  this  region, 
to  a  person  who  has  never  traveled  beyond  the  borders  of 
his  native  State.  The  laws  and  habits  of  associating  ideas 
in  the  human  mind  forbid  it. 

The  chief  source  of  information  for  those  States  that  lie 
on  the  Mississippi,  has  been  the  personal  observation  of  the 
author, — having  explored  most  of  the  settlements  in  Mis- 
souri and  Illinois,  and  a  portion  of  Indiana  and  Ohio, — 
having  spent  more  than  eighteen  years  here,  and  seen  the 
two  former  States,  from  an  incipient  Territorial  form  of 
government,  and  a  few  scattered  and  detached  settlements, 
arise  to  their  present  state  of  improvement,  population, 
wealth  and  national  importance.  His  next  source  of  in- 
formation has  been  from  personal  acquaintance  and  corres- 
pondence with  many  intelligent  citizens  of  the  States  and 
Territories  he  describes.  Reference  has  also  been  had  to 
the  works  of  Hall,  Flint,  Darby,  Breckenridge,  Beck,  Long, 
Schoolcraft,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Mitchell's  and  Tanner's 
Maps,  Farmer's  Map  of  Michigan,  Turnbull's  Map  of  Ohio, 
Ohio  Gazetteer,  Indiana  Gazetteer,  Dr.  Drake's  writings, 
M'Coy's  Annual  Register  of  Indian  Affairs,  Ellicott's  Sur- 
veys, and  several  periodicals.  J.  M.  P. 

Hock  Spring,  Illinois,  January,  1836. 


ADVERTISEMENT 

FOR    THE    SECOND    EDITION. 


The  Author  has  reviewed  this  work,  corrected  typo- 
graphical and  verbal  errors,  that  unavoidably  crept  into 
the  first  edition,  without  opportunity  to  examine  and 
correct  the  proof  sheets;  but  has  not  found  occasion  to 

make  any  essential  alterations. 

J.  M.  P. 

Rock  Spring,  Illinois,  January  1,  1837. 


GUIDE  TO  EMIGRANTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

Its  Extent — Subdivisions — Population — Physical  Features 
— Rivers. 

THE  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  in  its  proper 
geographical  extent,  embraces  all  that  portion 
of  the  United  States,  lying  between  the  Alleg- 
hany  and  Rocky  Mountains,  the  waters  of 
which  are  discharged  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico, 
through  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi.  I  have 
embraced,  however,  under  that  general  term, 
a  portion  of  the  country  bordering  on  the 
northern  lakes,  including  the  north  part  of 
Ohio,  the  north-eastern  portions  of  Indiana 
and  Illinois,  the  whole  of  Michigan,  with  a 
considerable  territorial  district  on  the  west 
side  of  lake  Michigan,  and  around  lake  Su- 
perior. 

Extent.     This  great  Valley  is  one  of    the 


16  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

largest  divisions  of  the  globe,  the  waters  of 
which  pass  one  estuary. 

To  suppose  the  United  States  and  its  terri- 
tory to  be  divided  into  three  portions,  the  ar- 
rangement would  be,  the  Atlantic  slope, — the 
Mississippi  basin,  or  valley, — and  the  Pacific 
slope. 

A  glance  on  any  map  of  North  America, 
will  show  that  this  Valley  includes  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States. 
The  Atlantic  slope  contains  about  390,000; 
the  Pacific  slope,  about  300,000;  which,  com- 
bined, are  690,000  square  miles;  while  the 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi  contains,  at  least, 
1,300,000  square  miles,  or  833,000,000  acres. 

This  Valley  extends  from  the  29°  to  the  49° 
of  north  latitude,  or  about  1400  miles  from  south 
to  north;  and  from  the  3°  to  the  35°  of  longi- 
tude west  from  Washington,  or  about  1470 
miles  from  east  to  west.  From  the  source  of 
the  Alleghany  river  to  the  sources  of  the 
Missouri,  following  the  meanderings  of  the 
streams,  is  not  less  than  5000  miles. 

Subdivisions.  The  States  and  Territories 
included,  are  a  small  section  of  New  York, 
watered  by  the  heads  of  the  Alleghany  river, 
Western  Pennsylvania,  Western  Virginia, 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Michigan, 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Louisiana, 
Arkansas,  Indian  Territory,  the  vast  unsettled 
regions  lying  to  the  west  and  north  of  this 
Territory,  the  Wisconsin  Territory,  including 
an  extensive  country  west  of  the  Mississip- 
pi, and  north  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  with 


GENERAL    VIEW.  17 

the  vast  regions   that  lie  towards  the    heads 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  around  lake  Superior.* 

Population.  Probably,  there  is  no  portion 
of  the  globe,  of  equal  extent,  that  contains  as 
much  of  soil  fit  for  cultivation,  and  which  is 
capable  of  sustaining  and  supplying  with  all 
the  necessaries  and  conveniences,  and  most 
of  the  luxuries  of  life,  so  dense  a  population 
as  this  great  Valley.  Deducting  one  third  of 
its  surface,  for  water  and  desert,  which  is  a 
very  liberal  allowance,  and  there  remains 
866,667  square  miles,  or  554,666,880  acres 
of  arable  land. 

The  following  table,  gives  a  comparative 
view  of  the  population  of  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  shows  the  proportional  in- 
crease of  the  several  States,  parts  of  States, 
and  Territories,  from  1790  to  the  close  of 
1835,  a  period  of  forty-five  years.  The  col- 
umn for  1835,  is  made  up,  partly,  from  the 
census,  taken  in  several  States  and  Territo- 
ries, and  partly  by  estimation.  It  is  sufficient- 
ly accurate,  for  general  purposes: 

*  Why  the  names,  Huron,  Mandan,  Sioux,  Osage,  and 
Ozark  have  been  applied  by  Darby,  and  other  authors,  to 
the  extensive  regions  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  the  Upper 
Missouri,  and  the  Arkansas  rivers,  I  am  not  able  to  solve. 
Os'tge  is  a  French  corruption  of  Wos-sosh-e,  and  Ozark 
is  an  awkward,  illiterate  corruption  of  Au  Kauzau.  Sioux 
is  another  French  corruption,  the  origin  of  which  is  not 
now  easily  ascertained.  Carver,  and  other  travellers,  call 
this  nation  of  Indians,  Nau-do-wes-sees.  Chiefs  of  this 
nation  have  repeatedly  disclaimed  the  name  of  Sioux  (pro- 
nounced Soos).  They  sometimes  call  themselves  Da-co-tah. 
2 


18 


PECK'S  GUIDE. 


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GENERAL    VIEW.  19 

Let  this  Valley  become  as  populous  as  Mas- 
sachusetts, which  contains610,014inhabitants, 
on  an  area  of  7800  square  miles,  or  seventy- 
eight  to  every  640  acres,  and  the  population  of 
this  immense  region  will  amount  to  67,600,000. 
The  child  is  now  born  which  will  live  to  see 
this  result.  Suppose  its  population  to  become 
equally  dense  with  England,  including  Wales, 
which  contains  207  to  the  square  mile,  and  its 
numbers  will  amount  to  179,400,000.  But  let 
it  become  equal  to  the  Netherlands,  the  most 
populous  country  on  the  globe,  containing  230 
to  the  square  mile,  and  the  Valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi teems  with  a  population  of  two  hun- 
dred millions, — a  result  which  may  be  had  in 
the  same  time  that  New  England  has  been 
gathering  its  two  millions.  What  reflections 
ought  this  view  to  present  to  the  patriot,  the 
philanthropist,  and  the  Christian! 

Physical  Features.  The  physical  features 
of  this  Valley  are  peculiar. 

1.  It   includes  two  great   inclined    planes, 
one  on  its  eastern,  and  the  other  on  its  west- 
ern border,  terminating  with  the  Mississippi. 

2.  This  river  receives  all  the  waters  pro- 
duced on  these  slopes,  which  are  discharged 
by  its  mouths  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 

3.  Every  part  of  this  vast  region  can  be 
penetrated    by  steam-boats,    or  other   water 
craft ;   nor  is  there  a  spot  in  all  this  wide  re- 
gion,  excepting  a  small  district   in  the  vast 
plains  of  Upper  Missouri,  that  is  more  than 
one  hundred  miles  from  some  navigable  water. 


20  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

A  boat  may  take  in  its  lading  on  the  banks  of 
the  Chatauque  lake,  in  the  State  of  New  York; 
another  may  receive  its  cargo  in  the  interior 
of  Virginia;  a  third  may  start  from  the  rice 
lakes,  at  the  head  of  the  Mississippi;  and  a 
fourth  may  come,  laden  with  furs,  from  the 
Chippewan  mountains,  2800  miles  up  the 
Missouri,  and  all  meet  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio,  and  proceed  in  company  to  the  ocean. 

4.  With  the  exception  of  its  eastern  and 
western    borders,    there    are    no   mountains. 
Some  portions  are  level;  a  large  part  is  gently 
undulating,   or  what  in   the  West  is   called 
"rolling;"  and  the  remainder  is  made  up  of 
abrupt  hills,  flint  and  limestone  ridges,  bluffs 
and  ravines. 

5.  It  is  divided  into  two  great  portions, — the 
UPPER  and  LOWER  VALLEY,  according  to  its 
general  features,  climate,  staple  productions, 
and  habits  of  its  population.     The  parallel  of 
latitude  that  cuts  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  river, 
will  designate  these  portions  with  sufficient 
accuracy. 

North  of  this  line,  the  seasons  are  regularly 
divided  into  spring,  summer,  autumn,  and 
winter.  In  the  winter  there  is  usually  more 
or  less  snow:  ice  forms,  and  frequently  blocks 
up  the  rivers,  and  navigation  is  obstructed. 
Cotton  is  not  produced  in  sufficient  quantity 
or  quality  to  make  it  a  staple  for  exportation. 
It  is  the  region  of  furs,  minerals,  tobacco, 
hemp,  live  stock,  and  every  description  of 
grain  and  fruit  that  grows  in  New  England. 


GENERAL   VIEW.  21 

Its  white  population  are  mostly  accustomed 
to  labor. 

South  of  this  line,  cotton,  tobacco,  indigo, 
and  sugar,  are  staples.  It  has  little  winter; 
snow  seldom  covers  the  earth;  ice  never  ob- 
structs the  rivers;  and  most  of  the  labor  is 
done  by  slaves. 

Rivers.  The  rivers  are  the  Mississippi  and 
its  tributaries;  or,  more  correctly,  the  Mis- 
souri, and  its  tributaries.  If  we  except  the 
Amazon,  no  river  can  compare  with  this, 
for  length  of  its  course,  the  number  and  ex- 
tent of  its  tributaries,  the  vast  country  they 
drain,  and  their  capabilities  for  navigation. 
Its  tributaries  generally  issue  either  from  the 
eastern  or  western  mountains,  and  flow  over 
this  immense  region,  diffusing  not  only  fertili- 
ty to  the  soil,  but  affording  facilities  for  com- 
merce a  great  part  of  the  year. 

The  Missouri  is  unquestionably  the  main 
stream,  for  it  is  not  only  longer,  and  dis- 
charges a  larger  volume  of  water,  than 
the  Mississippi,  above  its  mouth,  but  it  has 
branches,  which,  for  the  extent  of  country 
they  drain,  their  length,  and  the  volume  of 
water  they  discharge,  far  exceed  the  Upper 
Mississippi. 

The  characteristics  of  these  two  rivers  are 
each  distinctly  marked.  The  Missouri  is  tur- 
bid, violent  in  its  motions,  changing  its  cur- 
rents; its  navigation  is  interrupted,  or  made 
difficult,  by  snags,  sawyers,  and  planters;  and 
it  has  many  islands  and  sand-bars.  Such  is 


22  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

the  character  of  the  Mississippi,  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri.  But  above  its  mouth, 
its  waters  are  clear,  its  current  gentle,  while 
it  is  comparatively  free  from  snags  and  sand- 
bars. 

The  Missouri,  which  we  have  shown  to  be 
the  principal  stream,  rises  in  the  Chippewan, 
or  Rocky  mountains,  in  latitude  44°  north, 
and  longitude  about  35°  west  from  Washing- 
ton city.  It  runs  a  north-east  course,  till  after 
it  receives  the  Yellow  Stone,  when  it  reaches 
past  the  48th  degree  of  latitude ;  thence 
an  east,  then  a  south,  and,  finally,  a  south- 
eastern course,  until  it  meets  the  current  of 
the  Mississippi,  twenty  miles  above  St.  Louis, 
and  in  latitude  38°  45'  north.  Besides  nu- 
merous smaller  streams,  the  Missouri  receives 
the  Yellow  Stone  and  Platte,  which  of  them- 
selves, in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  would 
be  called  large  rivers,  together  with  the 
Sioux,  Kausau,  Grand,  Chariton,  Osage,  and 
Gasconade,  all  large  and  navigable  rivers. 

Its  length,  upon  an  entire  comparative 
course,  is  1870  miles,  and,  upon  a  particular 
course,  about  3000  miles.  Lewis  and  Clark 
make  the  distance  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
great  falls,  2580  miles. 

There  are  several  things  in  some  respects 
peculiar  to  this  river,  which  deserve  notice: 

1.  Its  current  is  very  rapid,  usually  at  the 
rate  of  four  or  five  miles  an  hour,  when  at  its 
height ;  and  it  requires  a  strong  wind  to  pro- 
pel a  boat,  with  a  sail,  against  it.  Steam  over- 


GENERAL    VIEW.  23 

comes  its  force,  for  boats  ply  regularly  from 
St.  Louis  to  the  towns  and  landings  on  its 
banks,  within  the  borders  of  the  State,  and 
return  with  the  produce  of  the  country.  Small 
steam-boats  have  gone  to  the  Yellow  Stone 
for  furs. 

Owing  to  the  shifting  of  its  current,  and  its 
snags  and  sand-bars,  its  navigation  is  less  safe 
and  pleasant  than  any  other  western  river,  but 
these  difficulties  are  every  year  lessened  by 
genius  and  enterprise. 

2.  Its  water  is  always  turbid,  being  of  a 
muddy  ash  color,  though  more  so  at  its  peri- 
odical rise  than  at  other  times.  This  is  caused 
by  extremely  fine  sand,  received  from  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Yellow  Stone.  During 
the  summer  flood,  a  tumbler  of  water  taken 
from  the  Missouri,  and  precipitated,  will  pro- 
duce about  one  fourth  of  its  bulk  in  sediment. 

This  sediment  does  not  prevent  its  habitual 
use  by  hundreds  who  live  on  its  banks,  or 
move  in  boats  over  its  surface.  Some  filtrate 
it,  but  many  more  drink  it,  and  use  it  for 
culinary  purposes,  in  its  natural  state. 

When  entirely  filtrated,  it  is  the  most  lim- 
pid and  agreeable  river  water  I  ever  saw. 
Its  specific  gravity  is  then  about  equal  to 
rain  water;  but,  in  its  turbid  state,  it  is  much 
heavier  than  ordinary  river  water;  for  a  boat 
will  draw  three  or  four  inches  less  in  it  than 
in  other  rivers,  with  the  same  lading;  and  the 
human  body  will  swim  in  it  with  but  very  little 
effort. 


24  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

It  possesses  some  medicinal  properties. 
Placed  in  an  open  vessel,  and  exposed  to  the 
summer's  sun,  it  remains  pure  for  weeks. 
Eruptions  on  the  skin  and'  ulcerous  sores  are 
cured  by  wading  or  frequent  bathings;  and 
it  commonly  produces  slight  cathartic  effects 
upon  strangers,  upon  its  first  use. 

The  width  of  the  Missouri  river,  at  St. 
Charles,  is  550  yards.  Its  alluvial  banks, 
however,  are  insecure,  and  are  not  unfre- 
quently  washed  away,  for  many  yards,  at  its 
annual  floods.  The  bed  of  its  channel  is  also 
precarious,  and  is  elevated,  or  depressed,  by 
the  deposition  or  removal  of  its  sandy  founda- 
tion. Hence,  the  elevation  or  depression  of 
the  surface  of  this  river  affords  no  criterion 
of  its  depth,  or  of  the  volume  of  water  it  dis- 
charges at  any  one  period. 

Undulatory  motions,  like  the  boiling  of  a 
pot,  are  frequently  seen  on  its  surface,  caused 
by  the  shifting  of  the  sand  that  forms  its  bed. 

The  volume  of  water  it  ordinarily  discharges 
into  the  Mississippi,  is  vastly  disproportionate 
to  its  length,  or  the  number  and  size  of  its 
tributaries.  I  have  seen  less  than  six  feet 
depth  of  water  at  St.  Charles,  at  a  low  stage, 
and  it  was  once  forded  by  a  soldier,  at  Belle- 
Fontaine,  four  miles  above  its  junction  with 
the  Mississippi. 

Evaporation  takes  up  large  quantities,  but 
absorption,  throughout  the  porous  soil  of  its 
wide  bottoms,  consumes  much  more.  In  all 
the  wells  dug  in  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Mis- 


GENERAL    VIEW.  25 

souri,  water  is  always  found  at  the  depth  of 
the  surface  of  the  river,  and  invariably  rises 
or  sinks  with  the  floods  and  ebbings  of  the 
stream.  Sand  frequently  enters  these  wells 
as  the  river  rises. 

Its  periodical  floods  deserve  notice.  Ordi- 
narily, this  river  has  three  periods  of  rising 
and  falling,  each  year.  The  first  rise  is 
caused  by  the  breaking  up  of  winter  on  the 
Gasconade,  Osage,  Kausau,  Chariton,  Grand, 
and  other  branches  of  the  Lower  Missouri,  and 
occurs  the  latter  part  of  February,  or  early 
in  March.  Its  second  rise  is  usually  in  April, 
when  the  Platte,  Yellow  Stone,  and  other 
streams  pour  into  it  their  spring  floods.  But 
the  flood,  that  more  usually  attracts  attention, 
takes  place  from  the  10th  to  the  25th  of  June, 
when  the  melting  snows  on  the  Chippewan 
mountains  pour  their  contents  into  the  Mis- 
souri. This  flood  is  scarcely  ever  less  than 
five,  nor  more  than  twenty  feet,  at  St.  Louis, 
above  the  ordinary  height  of  the  river.  On 
two  occasions,  however,  since  the  country 
was  known  to  the  French,  it  has  risen  to 
that  height  in  the  Mississippi,  as  to  flow  over 
the  American  bottom,  in  Illinois,  and  drive 
the  inhabitants  of  Cahokia  and  Kaskaskia 
from  their  villages  to  the  bluffs.  Rain,  in 
greater  or  less  quantities,  usually  falls  during 
the  rise  of  the  river,  and  ceases  when  the 
waters  subside.  So  uniform  is  this  the  case 
in  Upper  Missouri,  the  region  beyond  the 
boundary  of  the  State,  that  the  seasons  are 
divided  into  wet  and  dry. 


26  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Pumice  stone,  and  other  volcanic  produc- 
tions, occasionally  float  down  its  waters. 

Mississippi  River.  The  extreme  head  of 
the  longest  branch  of  the  Mississippi  river 
has  been  found  in  lake  Itaska,  or  Lac  la 
Biche,  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  who  states  it  to 
be  elevated  1500  feet  above  the  Atlantic 
ocean,  and  distant  3160  miles  from  the  ex- 
treme outlet  of  the  river,  at  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 
The  outlet  of  Itaska  lake,  which  is  connected 
with  a  string  of  small  lakes,  is  ten  or  twelve 
feet  broad,  and  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  deep. 
This  is  in  latitude  about  48°  north.  From 
this,  it  passes  Cedar,  and  several  smaller 
lakes,  and  runs  a  winding  course,  700  miles, 
to  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  where  its  waters 
are  precipitated  over  a  cataract  of  sixteen  or 
seventeen  feet,  perpendicular.  It  then  con- 
tinues a  south-eastern  course,  to  the  Missouri, 
in  latitude  38°  38'  north,  receiving  the  St. 
Croix,  Chippewa,  Wisconsin,  Rock,  and  Il- 
linois rivers,  with  many  smaller  streams  from 
the  east,  and  the  St.  Peter's  Iowa,  Des  Moines 
and  Salt  rivers,  besides  a  number  of  smaller 
ones  from  the  west.  The  current  of  the  Mis- 
souri strikes  that  of  the  Mississippi,  at  right 
angles,  and  throws  it  upon  the  eastern  shore. 
When  at  a  low  stage,  the  waters  of  the  tv/o 
rivers  are  distinct  till  they  pass  St.  Louis. 

The  principal  branch  of  the  Upper  Missis- 
sippi is  the  St.  Peter's,  which  rises  in  the 
great  prairies  in  the  north-west,  and  enters 
the  parent  stream  ten  miles  below  the  falls  of 


GENERAL   VIEW.  27 

St.  Anthony.  Towards  the  sources  of  this 
river  the  quarries  exist  from  which  are  made 
the  red  stone  pipes  of  the  Indians.  This  is 
sacred  ground:  hostile  tribes  meet  here,  and 
part  unmolested. 

Rock  river  drains  the  waters  from  the  north- 
ern part  of  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  and  enters 
the  parent  stream,  at  latitude  41°  30'  north. 
In  latitude  39°  comes  in  the  Illinois  (signify- 
ing the  "River  of  Men");  and,  eighteen  miles 
below  this,  it  unites  with,  and  is  lost  in  the 
Missouri. 

Custom  has  fixed,  unalterably,  the  name 
Mississippi  to  this  united  body  of  waters,  that 
rolls  its  turbid  waves  towards  the  Mexican 
gulf;  though,  as  has  been  intimated,  it  is  but 
a  continuation  of  the  Missouri. 

Sixty  miles  below  St.  Louis,  the  Kaskaskia 
joins  it,  after  a  devious  course  of  400  miles. 
In  latitude  37°  north,  the  Ohio  pours  in  its 
tribute  (called  by  the  early  French  explorers, 
"  La  Belle  Riviere , ' ' — the  beautiful  river) .  A 
little  below  34°  the  White  river  enters,  after 
a  course  of  more  than  1000  miles.  Thirty 
miles  below  that,  the  Arkansas,  bringing  its 
tribute  from  the  confines  of  Mexico,  pours  in 
its  waters.  Above  Natchez,  the  Yazoo,  from 
the  east,  and,  eighty  miles  below,  the  Red 
river,  from  the  west,  unite  their  waters  with 
the  Mississippi.  Red  river  takes  its  rise  in 
the  Mexican  dominions,  and  runs  a  course  of 
more  than  2000  miles. 

Hitherto,  the  waters    in  the  wide  regions 


28  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

of  the  West  have  been  congregating  to  one 
point.  The  "  Father  of  Waters  "  is  now  up- 
wards of  a  mile  in  width,  and  several  fathoms 
deep.  During  its  annual  floods,  it  overflows 
its  banks,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and 
penetrates  the  numerous  bayous,  lakes  and 
swamps,  and  especially  on  its  western  side. 
In  many  places,  these  floods  extend  thirty  or 
forty  miles  into  the  interior.  But  after  it  re- 
ceives the  Red  river,  it  begins  to  throw  off  its 
surplus  waters,  which  flow  in  separate  chan- 
nels to  the  gulf,  and  never  again  unite  with 
the  parent  stream.  Several  of  these  commu- 
nications are  held  with  the  ocean,  at  different 
and  distant  points. 

Ohio  River.  The  Ohio  river  is  formed  by 
the  junction  of  the  Alleghany  and  Mononga- 
hela,  at  Pittsburgh.  The  Alleghany  river 
rises  not  far  from  the  head  of  the  western 
branch  of  the  Susquehannah,  in  the  highlands 
of  McKean  county,  Pennsylvania.  It  runs 
north,  till  it  penetrates  Cataraugus  county, 
New  York;  then  turns  west,  then  south-west, 
and  finally  takes  a  southern  course,  to  Pitts- 
burgh. It  receives  a  branch  from  the  Cha- 
tauque  lake,  Chatauque  county,  New  York. 
The  Monongahela  rises  near  the  sources  of 
the  Kenawha,  in  Western  Virginia,  and  runs 
north  till  it  meets  the  Alleghany. 

The  general  course  of  the  Ohio  is  south- 
west. Its  current  is  gentle,  and  it  receives  a 
number  of  tributaries,  which  are  noticed  in 
the  States  where  they  run. 


GENERAL    VIEW.  29 

The  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  has  been  ar- 
ranged, by  Mr.  Darby,  into  four  great  subdi- 
visions: 

1.  The  Ohio  Valley,— length,  750  miles,  and 
mean  width,  261;  containing  196,000  square 
miles. 

2.  Mississippi  Valley,  above  Ohio,  includ- 
ing the  minor  valley  of  Illinois,  but  exclusive 
of  Missouri,  650  miles  long,  and  277  mean 
width,  and  containing  180,000  square  miles. 

3.  Lower  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  includ- 
ing White,  Arkansas,  and  Red  river  valleys, 
1000  miles   long,   and  200  wide,   containing 
200,000  square  miles. 

4.  Missouri  Proper,  including  Osage,  Kau- 
sau,  Platte  rivers,  &c.,  1200  miles  long,  and 
437  wide,  containing  523,000  square  miles. 

"The  Valley  of  the  Ohio  is  better  known 
than  any  of  the  others;  has  much  fertile  land, 
and  much  that  is  sterile,  or  unfit  for  cultiva- 
tion, on  account  of  its  unevenness.  It  is  di- 
vided into  two  unequal  portions,  by  the  Ohio 
river;  leaving  on  the  right,  or  north-west  side, 
80,000,  and  on  the  left,  or  south-east  side, 
116,000  square  miles.  The  eastern  part  of 
this  valley  is  hilly,  and  rapidly  acclivous  to- 
wards the  Appalachian  mountains.  Indeed,  its 
high  hills,  as  you  approach  these  mountains, 
are  of  a  strongly  marked  mountainous  char- 
acter. Of  course,  the  rivers  which  flow  into 
the  Ohio, — the  Monongahela,  Kenawha,  Lick- 
ing, Sandy,  Kentucky,  Green,  Cumberland 
and  Tennessee, — are  rapid,  and  abounding 


30  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

in  cataracts  and  falls,  which,  towards  their 
sources,  greatly  impede  navigation.  The 
western  side  of  this  Valley  is  also  hilly,  for 
a  considerable  distance  from  the  Ohio,  but, 
towards  its  western  limit,  it  subsides  to  a 
remarkably  level  region;  so  that,  whilst  the 
eastern  line  of  this  Valley  lies  along  the  high 
table  land,  on  which  the  Appalachian  moun- 
tains rest,  and  where  the  rivers  of  the  eastern 
section  of  this  Valley  rise  (which  is  at  least 
2000  miles,  generally,  above  the  ocean  level), 
the  western  line  has  not  an  elevation  of  much 
more  than  half  of  that  amount  on  the  north,  and 
which  greatly  subsides  towards  the  Kaskaskia. 
The  rivers  of  the  western  section  are  Beaver, 
Muskingum,  Hockhocking,  Scioto,  Miama, 
and  Wabash.  Along  the  Ohio,  on  each  side, 
are  high  hills,  often  intersected  with  deep  ra- 
vines, and  sometimes  openings  of  considerable 
extent,  and  well  known  by  the  appellation  of 
'Ohio  Hills.'  Towards  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio,  these  hills  almost  wholly  disappear, 
and  extensive  level  bottoms,  covered  with 
heavy  forests  of  oak,  sycamore,  elm,  poplar 
and  cotton-wood,  stretch  along  each  side  of 
the  river.  On  the  lower  section  of  the  river, 
the  water,  at  the  time  of  the  spring  floods, 
often  overflows  these  bottoms  to  a  great  ex- 
tent. This  fine  Valley  embraces  considerably 
more  than  one  half  of  the  whole  population  of 
the  entire  Valley  of  the  West.  The  western 
parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  the  entire 
States  of  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Kentucky,  the 


GENERAL    VIEW.  31 

larger  part  of  Tennessee,  and  a  smaller  part 
of  Illinois,  are  in  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio." 

The  Upper  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  pos- 
sesses a  surface  far  less  diversified  than  the 
Valley  of  the  Ohio.  The  country,  where  its 
most  northern  branches  take  their  rise,  is 
elevated  table  land,  abounding  with  marshes 
and  lakes,  that  are  filled  with  a  graniferous 
vegetable,  called  wild  rice.  It  is  a  slim, 
shriveled  grain,  of  a  brownish  hue,  and 
gathered  by  the  Indians,  in  large  quantities, 
for  food.  There  are  tracts  of  arable  land, 
covered  with  elm,  linden,  pine,  hemlock, 
cherry,  maple,  birch,  and  other  timber  com- 
mon to  a  northern  climate.  From  the  same 
plateau  flow  the  numerous  branches  of  Red 
river,  and  other  streams  that  flow  into  lake 
Winnipec,  and  thence  into  Hudson's  bay. 
Here,  too,  are  found  some  of  the  head 
branches  of  the  waters  of  St.  Lawrence,  that 
enter  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  and  Superior. 
In  the  whole  country  of  which  we  are  speak- 
ing, there  is  nothing  that  deserves  the  name 
of  mountain.  Below  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony 
the  river  bluffs  are  often  abrupt,  wild  and 
romantic;  and  at  their  base  and  along  the 
streams  are  thousands  of  quartz  crystals,  cor- 
nelians, and  other  precious  stones. 

But  a  short  distance  in  the  rear,  you  en- 
ter upon  table  land  of  extensive  prairies, 
with  clumps  of  trees,  and  groves,  along  the 
streams.  Further  down,  abrupt  cliffs,  and 
overhanging  precipices,  are  frequently  seen 
at  the  termination  of  the  river  alluvion. 


32  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

The  whole  country  north-west  of  the  Ohio, 
and  east  of  the  Mississippi,  as  far  north  as  the 
falls  of  St.  Anthony,  exhibit  striking  marks  of 
a  diluvial  formation,  by  a  gradual  retiring  of 
the  waters.  From  the  summit  level  that  di- 
vides the  waters  of  the  lakes  from  those  of 
the  Mississippi,  through  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, and  Wisconsin,  which  is  scarcely  a  per- 
ceptible ridge,  to  the  south  point  of  Illinois, 
at  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi, 
appears  to  have  once  been  a  plane,  with  an 
inclination  equal  to  twelve  or  fifteen  inches 
per  mile.  The  ravines  and  valleys  appear  to 
have  been  gradually  sc.ooped  out  by  the  abra- 
sion of  the  waters. 

"The  Lower  Mississippi  Valley  has  a 
length  of  1200  miles,  from  north-west  to 
south-east,  considering  the  source  of  the  Ar- 
kansas and  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  river 
as  extreme  points;  reaching  from  latitude  29° 
to  42°  north,  and,  without  estimating  moun- 
tains, ridges  or  peaks,  differs  in  relative  ele- 
vation at  least  500  feet. 

"  The  Arkansas  river  rises  near  latitude  42° 
north,  and  longitude  32°  west  from  Washing- 
ton,  and  falls  into  the  Mississippi  at  33°  56', 
passing  over  eight  degrees  of  latitude. 

"  Red  river  rises  in  the  mountainous  coun- 
try of  Mexico,  north  of  Texas,  in  latiude  34° 
north,  and  longitude  29°  west  from  Washing- 
ton, and  falls  into  the  Mississippi  in  latitude 
31°.  They  are  both  remarkable  rivers,  for 
their  extent,  the  number  of  their  branches, 


GENERAL    VIEW.  33 

the  volume  of  their  waters,  the  quantity  of  al- 
luvion they  carry  down  to  the  parent  stream, 
and  the  color  of  their  waters.  Impregnated 
by  saline  particles,  and  colored  with  ocherous 
earth,  the  waters  of  these  two  rivers  are  at 
once  brackish  and  nauseous  to  the  taste,  par- 
ticularly near  their  mouths:  that  of  Red  river 
is  so  much  so  at  Natchitoches,  at  low  water, 
that  it  cannot  be  used  for  culinary  purposes. 

"At  a  short  distance  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Red  river,  a  large  bayou  (as  it  is  called), 
or  outlet,  breaks  from  the  Mississippi,  on  the 
west;  by  which,  it  is  believed,  as  large  a 
volume  of  water  as  the  Red  river  brings  to 
the  parent  river,  is  drained  off,  and  runs  to 
the  gulf  of  Mexico,  fifty  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi.  The  name  of  this  bayou 
is  Atchafalaya,  or,  as  it  is  commonly  called, 
Chaffalio.  Below  this  bayou,  another  of  large 
dimensions  breaks  forth  on  the  same  side,  and 
finally  falls  into  the  Atchafalaya.  This  is  the 
Placquemine.  Still  lower,  at  Donaldsonville, 
ninety  miles  above  New  Orleans,  on  the  same 
side,  the  Lafourche  bayou  breaks  out,  and 
pursues  a  course  parallel  to  the  Mississippi, 
fifty  miles  west  of  the  mouth  of  that  river. 
On  the  east  side,  the  Ibberville  bayou  drains 
off  a  portion  of  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi, 
into  lakes  Maurepas,  Ponchartrain,  Borgnes, 
and  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  and  thus  forms  the 
long  and  narrow  island  of  Orleans. 

"In  the  Lower  Valley  of  the  Mississippi 
there   is  a  great  extent  of  land  of  the  very 
2* 


34  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

richest  kind.  There  is  also  much  that  is  al- 
most always  overflown  with  waters,  and  is 
a  perpetual  swamp.  There  are  extensive 
prairies  in  this  Valley;  and  towards  the  Rocky 
mountains,  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Arkan- 
sas and  Red  rivers,  there  are  vast  barren 
steppes,  or  plains  of  sand,  dreary  and  barren, 
like  the  central  steppes  of  Asia.  On  the  east 
of  the  Mississippi  are  extensive  regions  of 
the  densest  forests,  which  form  a  striking 
contrast  with  the  prairies  which  stretch  on 
the  west  of  that  great  river. 

"The  Valley  of  the  Missouri  extends  1200 
miles  in  length,  and  700  in  width,  and  em- 
braces 253,000  square  miles.  The  Missouri 
river  rises  in  the  Chippewan  mountains, 
through  eight  degrees,  or  nearly  600  miles. 
The  Yellow  Stone  is  its  longest  branch. 
The  course  of  the  Missouri,  after  leaving  the 
Rocky  mountains,  is  generally  south-east,  un- 
til it  unites  with  the  Mississippi.  The  princi- 
pal branches  flow  from  the  south-west.  They 
are  the  Osage,  Kausau,  Platte,  &c.  The 
three  most  striking  features  of  this  Valley 
are,  1st.  The  turbid  character  of  its  waters. 
2d.  The  very  unequal  volumes  of  the  right 
and  left  confluences.  3d.  The  immense  pre- 
dominance of  the  open  prairies,  over  the 
forests  which  line  the  rivers.  The  western 
part  of  this  Valley  rises  to  an  elevation  to- 
wards the  Chippewan  mountains,  equal  to  ten 
degrees  of  temperature.  Ascending  from  the 
lower  verge  of  this  widely  extended  plain, 


GENERAL    VIEW.  35 

wood  becomes  more  and  more  scarce,  until 
one  naked  surface  spreads  on  all  sides.  Even 
the  ridges  and  chains  of  the  Chippewan  par- 
take of  these  traits  of  desolation.  The  trav- 
eler, who  has  read  the  descriptions  of  Central 
Asia,  by  Tooke  or  Pallas,  will  feel  on  the 
higher  branches  of  the  Missouri,  a  resem- 
blance, at  once  striking  and  appalling;  and 
he  will  acknowledge,  if  near  to  the  Chippe- 
wan mountains,  in  winter,  that  the  utmost  in- 
tensity of  frost  over  Siberia  and  Mongolia 
has  its  full  counterpart  in  North  America,  on 
similar,  if  not  on  lower  latitudes.  There  is 
much  fertile  land  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mis- 
souri, though  much  of  it  must  be  for  ever  the 
abode  of  the  buffalo  and  the  elk,  the  wolf  and 
the  deer  "* 

*  Darby. 


CHAPTER   II. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

(CONTINUED.) 

Productions. 

Minerals.  But  few  mines  exist  in  the  Low- 
er Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Louisiana  being 
chiefly  alluvion,  furnishes  only  two  specimens, 
sulphuret  of  antimony,  and  meteoric  iron  ore. 
It  is  supposed  that  the  pine  barrens  towards 
Texas,  if  explored,  would  add  to  the  number. 

The  only  minerals  in  Mississippi  are, — ame- 
thyst, of  which  one  crystal  has  been  found; 
potter's  clay,  at  the  Chickasaw  bluffs,  and 
near  Natchez;  sulphuret  of  lead,  in  small 
quantities,  about  Port  Gibson;  and  sulphate 
of  iron.  Petrified  trunks  of  trees  are  found  in 
the  bed  of  the  Mississippi,  opposite  Natchez. 
In  Arkansas,  are  various  species.  Here  may 
be  found  the  native  magnet,  or  magnetic 
oxide  of  iron,  possessing  strong  magnetic 
power.  Iron  ores  are  very  abundant.  Sul- 
phate of  copper,  sulphuret  of  zinc,  alum,  and 


GENERAL    VIEW.  37 

aluminous  slate  are  found  about  the  cove  of 
Washitau  and  the  hot  springs.  Buhr  stone, 
of  a  superior  quality,  exists  in  the  surrounding 
hills.  The  hot  springs  are  interesting,  on  ac- 
count of  the  minerals  around  them,  the  heat 
of  their  waters,  and  as  furnishing  a  retreat 
to  valetudinarians  from  the  sickly  regions  ot 
the  South.  They  are  situated  on  the  Washi- 
tau, a  large  stream  that  empties  into  Red 
river. 

The  lead  mines  of  Missouri  have  been 
worked  for  more  than  a  century.  They  are 
distributed  through  the  country,  from  thirty 
to  one  hundred  miles  south-west  from  St. 
Louis,  and  probably  extend  through  the  Gas- 
conade country.  Immense  quantities  of  iron 
ore  exist  in  this  region.  Lead  is  found  in 
vast  quantities,  in  the  northern  part  of  Illinois, 
the  south  part  of  Wisconsin  Territory,  and 
the  country  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississip- 
pi. These  mines  are  worked  extensively. 
Native  copper,  in  large  quantities,  is  found 
in  the  same  region.  Large  quantities  of  iron 
ore  is  found  in  the  mountainous  parts  of  Ten- 
nessee and  Kentucky,  where  furnaces  and 
forges  have  been  erected;  also,  in  the  hilly 
parts  of  Ohio,  particularly  at  the  falls  of  Lick- 
ing, four  miles  west  of  Zanesville;  and  in 
Adams  and  Lawrence  counties,  near  the  Ohio 
river.  With  iron  ore  the  West  is  profusely 
supplied. 

Bituminous  coal  exists,  in  great  profusion, 
in  various  parts  of  the  Western  Valley.  The 


38  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

hills,  around  Pittsburgh,  are  inexhaustible. 
It  extends  through  many  portions  of  Ohio  and 
Indiana.  Nearly  every  county  in  Illinois  is 
supplied  with  this  valuable  article.  Missouri, 
Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  have  their  share. 
Immense  quantities  are  found  in  the  moun- 
tains along  the  Kenawha,  in  Western  Vir- 
ginia, and  it  is  now  employed  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  salt.  The  Cumberland  mountains,  in 
Tennessee,  contain  immense  deposits. 

Muriate  of  soda,  or  common  salt,  exists  in 
most  of  the  States  and  Territories  of  this 
Valley.  Near  the  sources  of  the  Arkansas, 
incrustations  are  formed  by  evaporation,  dur- 
ing the  dry  season,  in  the  depressed  portions 
of  the  immense  prairies  of  that  region.  The 
celebrated  salt  rock  is  on  the  red  fork  of  the 
Canadian,  a  branch  of  the  Arkansas  river. 
Jefferson  lake  has  its  water  strongly  impreg- 
nated with  salt,  and  is  of  a  bright  red  color. 
Beds  of  rock  salt  are  in  the  mountains  of  this 
region.  Several  counties  of  Missouri  have 
abundant  salt  springs.  Considerable  quan- 
tities of  salt  are  manufactured  in  Jackson, 
Gallatin,  and  Vermilion  counties,  Illinois. 
Saline  springs,  and  "licks,"  as  they  are 
called,  abound  through  Kentucky,  Tennes- 
see, Indiana,  Ohio,  Western  Pennsylvania, 
and  Western  Virginia.  Salt  is  manufactured, 
in  great  abundance,  at  the  Kenawha  salines, 
sixteen  miles  above  Oharlestown,  Va.,  and 
brought  down  the  Kenawha  river,  and  carried 
to  all  the  Western  States.  Much  salt  is  made 


GENERAL    VIEW,  39 

also  on  the  Kiskiminitas,  a  branch  of  the 
Alleghany  river,  at  the  Yellow  creek,  above 
Steubenville,  and  in  the  Scioto  country,  in 
Ohio.  The  water  is  frequently  obtained  by 
boring  through  rock,  of*  different  strata,  sev- 
eral hundred  feet  deep. 

Copper,  antimony,  manganese,  and  several 
other  minerals,  are  found  in  different  parts  of 
the  West,  but  are  Hot  yet  worked.  Nitrate 
of  potash  is  found  in  great  abundance,  in  the 
caverns  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  also  in 
Missouri,  from  which  large  quantities  of  salt- 
petre are  manufactured.  Sulphate  of  magnesia 
is  found  in  Kentucky,  Indiana,  and  perhaps 
other  States.  Sulphur,  and  other  mineral 
springs,  are  very  common  in  the  Western 
States. 

Vegetable  Productions,  Trees,  <$~c.  Almost 
every  species  of  timber  and  shrub,  common 
to  the  Atlantic  States,  is  found  in  some  part 
of  the  Western  Valley.  The  cotton-wood  and 
sycamore  are  found  along  all  the  rivers  below 
the  41st  deg.  of  north  latitude.  The  cypress 
begins  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and  spreads 
through  the  alluvion  portions  of  the  Lower 
Valley.  The  magnolia,  with  its  large,  beau- 
tiful flower,  grows  in  Louisiana,  and  the  long 
leaf  pine  flourishes  in  the  uplands  of  the  same 
region.  The  sugar-maple  abounds  in  the 
northern  and  middle  portions.  The  chestnut, 
is  found  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Valley, 
as  far  as  Indiana,  but  not  a  tree  is  known  to 
exist  in  a  natural  state,  west  of  the  Wabash 


40  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

river.  Yellow  or  pitch  pine  grows  in  sev- 
eral counties  of  Missouri,  especially  on  the 
Gasconade,  from  whence  large  quantities  of 
lumber  are  brought  to  St.  Louis.  White 
pine,  from  the  Alleghany  river,  is  annually 
sent  to  all  the  towns  on  the  Ohio,  and  further 
down.  Considerable  quantities  of  white  pine 
grow  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  along  the 
western  shore  of  Michigan,  about  Green  Bay, 
and  along  the  shores  of  lake  Superior.  The 
yellow  poplar  (Liriodendron  tulipifera)  is  a 
majestic  tree,  valuable  for  light  boards,  and 
may  be  found  in  some  parts  of  most  of  the 
Western  States.  The  beech  tree  is  frequently 
found  in  company.  The  live-oak,  so  valuable 
in  ship-building,  is  found  south  of  the  31st  de- 
gree, and  along  the  Louisiana  coast.  The 
orange,  fig,  olive,  pine-apple,  &c.,  find  a  genial 
climate  about  New  Orleans.  High  inthe  north, 
we  have  the  birch,  hemlock,  fir,  and  other 
trees  peculiar  to  a  cold  region.  Amongst  our 
fruit-bearing  trees,  we  may  enumerate  the 
walnut,  hickory,  or  shag-bark,  persimmon, 
pecaun,  mulberry,  crab-apple,  paupau,  wild 
plum,  and  wild  cherry.  The  vine  grows 
every  where.  Of  the  various  species  of  oak, 
elm,  ash,  linden,  hackberry,  &c.,  it  is  un- 
necessary to  speak.  Where  forests  abound, 
the  trees  are  tall  and  majestic.  In  the  prairie 
country,  the  timber  is  usually  found  on  the 
streams,  or  in  detached  groves. 

In  the  early  settlement  of  Kentucky,  there 
were    found,    south    of   Green    river,    large 


GENERAL    VIEW.  41 

tracts,  with  stunted,  scattering  trees,  inter- 
mixed svith  hazel  and  brushwood.  From  this 
appearance  it  was  inferred  that  the  soil  was 
of  inferior  quality,  and  these  tracts  were  de- 
nominated "barrens."  Subsequently,  it  was 
found  that  this  land  was  of  prime  quality. 
The  term  "barrens  "  is  now  applied,  exten- 
sively, in  the  West,  to  the  same  description 
of  country.  It  distinguishes  an  intermediate 
grade,  from  forest  and  prairie.  A  common 
error  has  prevailed  abroad,  that  our  prairie 
land  is  wet.  Prairie  is  a  French  word,  sig- 
nifying meadow,  and  is  applied  to  any  descrip- 
tion of  surface,  that  is  destitute  of  timber  and 
brushwood,  and  clothed  with  grass.  Wet, 
dry,  level,  and  undulating,  are  terms  of  de- 
scription, merely,  and  apply  to  prairies  in 
the  same  sense  as  they  do  to  forests.  The 
prairies,  in  summer,  are  clothed  with  grass, 
herbage  and  flowers ;  exhibit  a  delightful 
prospect,  and  furnish  most  abundant  and 
luxuriant  pasturage  for  stock.  Much  of  the 
forest  land,  in  the  Western  Valley  produces 
a  fine  range  for  domestic  animals  and  swine. 
Thousands  are  raised,  and  the  emigrant 
grows  wealthy,  from  the  bounties  of  nature, 
with  but  little  labor. 

Of  animals,  birds,  and  reptiles,  little  need 
be  said.  The  buffalo  was  in  Illinois  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  century.  They  are 
not  found  now,  within  three  hundred  miles  of 
Missouri  and  Arkansas,  and  they  are  fast  re- 
ceding. Deer  are  found  still  in  all  frontier 
3 


42  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

settlements.  Wolves,  foxes,  racoons,  wild 
cats,  opossums  and  squirrels  are  plenty. 
The  brown  bear  is  still  hunted  in  some  parts 
of  the  Western  States.  Col.  Crockett  was  a 
famous  bear-hunter,  in  Western  Tennessee. 
The  white  bear,  mountain  sheep,  antelope 
and  beaver,  are  found  in  the  defiles  of  the 
Rocky  mountains.  The  elk  is  still  found  by 
the  hunter  contiguous  to  newly  formed  settle- 
ments. All  the  domestic  animals  of  the 
United  States  flourish  here. 

Nearly  all  the  feathered  tribe  of  the  Atlan- 
tic slope  are  to  be  found  in  the  Valley.  Peli- 
cans, wild  geese,  swans,  cranes,  ducks,  paro- 
quets, wild  turkies,  prairie  hens,  &.C.,  are 
found  in  different  States,  especially  on  the 
Mississippi. 

Reptiles.  The  rattlesnake,  copperhead 
snake,  moccasin  snake,  bull  snake,  and  the 
various  snakes  usually  found  in  the  Atlantic 
States,  are  here.  Of  the  venomous  kinds,  mul- 
titudes are  destroyed  by  the  deer  and  swine. 
Chameleons  and  scorpions  exist  in  the  Lower 
Valley,  and  lizards,  every  where.  The  al- 
ligator, an  unwieldy  and  bulky  animal,  is 
found  in  the  rivers  and  lakes  south  of  latitude 
34°  north.  He  sometimes  destroys  calves 
and  pigs,  and,  very  rarely,  even  young  chil- 
dren. 

History.  The  honor  of  the  discovery  of  this 
country  is  disputed  by  the  Spanish,  English 
and  French.  It  is  probable  that  Sebastian 
Cabot  sailed  along  the  shores  of  what  was 


GENERAL    VIEW.  43 

afterwards  called  Florida,  but  a  few  years 
after  Columbus  discovered  America.  Span- 
ish authors  claim  that  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon 
discovered  and  named  Florida,  in  1512.  Nar- 
vaez,  another  Spanish  commander,  having 
obtained  a  grant  of  Florida,  in  1528,  landed 
four  or  five  hundred  men,  but  was  lost  by 
shipwreck,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi. 
Ferdinand  de  Soto  was  probably  the  first 
white  man  who  saw  the  Mississippi  river. 
He  is  said  to  have  marched  1000  men  from 
Florida,  through  the  Chickasaw  country,  to 
the  Mississippi,  near  the  mouth  of  Red  river, 
where  he  took  sick  and  died.  His  men  re- 
turned. Some  writers  suppose  De  Soto  trav- 
elled as  far  north  as  Kentucky,  or  the  Ohio 
river.  This  is  not  probable. 

The  French  were  the  first  to  explore  and 
settle  the  West,  and  they  held  jurisdiction 
over  the  country  of  Illinois  for  eighty  years, 
when  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British  upon 
the  conquest  of  Canada. 

In  1564,  Florida  was  settled  by  a  colony 
of  Huguenots,  under  Admiral  Coligny,  who 
were  afterwards  massacred  by  the  Spaniards, 
because  they  were  Protestant  heretics! 

In  1608,  Admiral  Champlaine  founded  Que- 
bec, from  which,  French  settlements  spread 
through  the  Canadas. 

About  1670,  the  notion  prevailed  amongst 
the  French  that  visited  Canada,  that  a  west- 
ern passage  to  the  Pacific  ocean  existed. 
They  learned  from  the  Indians,  that  far  in 

v 


44 


the  west  there  was  a  great  river,  but  of  its 
course  or  termination  they  could  learn  noth- 
ing. They  supposed  that  this  river  com- 
municated with  the  Western  ocean. 

To  investigate  this  question,  P.  Marquette, 
a  Jesuit,  and  Joliet,  were  appointed  by  M. 
Talon,  the  Intendant  of  New  France.  Mar- 
quette was  well  acquainted  with  the  Canadas, 
and  had  great  influence  with  the  Indian  tribes. 
They  conducted  an  expedition  through  the 
lakes,  up  Green  bay  and  Fox  river,  to  the 
Portage,  where  it  approaches  the  Wisconsin, 
to  which  they  passed,  and  descended  that 
river  to  the  Mississippi,  which  they  reached 
the  17h  of  June,  1673.  They  found  a  river 
much  larger  and  deeper  than  it  had  been 
represented  by  the  Indians.  Their  regular 
journal  was  lost  on  their  return  to  Canada;  but 
from  the  account  afterwards  given  by  Joliet, 
they  found  the  natives  friendly,  and  that  a  tra- 
dition existed  amongst  them  of  the  residence  of 
a  "Mon-e-to,"  or  spirit,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri,  which  they  could  not  pass.  They 
turned  their  course  up  the  Illinois,  and  were 
highly  delighted  with  the  placid  stream,  and 
the  woodlands  and  prairies  through  which  it 
flowed.  They  were  hospitably  received,  and 
kindly  treated,  by  the  Illinois,  a  numerous 
nation  of  Indians,  who  were  destitute  of  the 
cruelty  of  savages.  The  word  "  Illinois,"  or 
"  Illini,"  is  said  by  Hennepin,  to  signify  a 
"full  grown  man."  This  nation  appears  to 
have  originally  possessed  the  Illinois  country, 


GENERAL    VIEW.  45 

and  also  a  portion  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
The  nation  was  made  up  of  eight  tribes; — 
the  Miamies,  Michigamies,  Mascotins,  Kas- 
kaskias  Kahokias,  Peorias,  Piankeshaws,  and 
Tau-mar-waus. 

Marquette  continued  among  these  Indians, 
with  a  view  to  christianize  them;  but  Joliet 
returned  to  Canada,  and  reported  the  discov- 
eries he  had  made. 

Several  years  elapsed  before  any  one  at- 
tempted to  follow  up  the  discoveries  of  Mar- 
quette and  Joliet.  M.  de  La  Salle,  a  native 
of  Normandy,  but  who  had  resided  many 
years  in  Canada,  was  the  first  to  extend  these 
early  discoveries.  He  was  a  man  of  intelli- 
gence, talents,  enterprise,  and  perseverance. 
After  obtaining  the  sanction  of  the  king  of 
France,  he  set  out  on  his  projected  expedi- 
tion in  1678,  from  Frontenac,  with  Chevalier 
Tonti,  his  lieutenant,  and  Father  Hennepin,  a 
Jesuit  missionary,  and  thirty  or  forty  men. 

He  spent  about  one  year  in  exploring  the 
country  bordering  on  the  lakes,  and  in  select- 
ing positions  for  forts  and  trading  posts,  to 
secure  the  Indian  trade  to  the  French.  After 
he  had  built  a  fort  at  Niagara,  and  fitted  out 
a  small  vessel,  he  sailed  through  the  lakes  to 
Green  bay,  then  called  the  "Bay  of  Puants." 
From  thence  he  proceeded  with  his  men  in 
canoes  towards  the  south  end  of  lake  Michi- 
gan, and  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  "river 
of  the  Miamis"  in  November,  1679.  This  is 
thought  to  be  the  Milwaukee,  in  Wisconsin 


46  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Territory.  Here  he  built  a  fort,  left  eight  or 
ten  men,  and  passed  with  the  rest  of  his  com- 
pany across  the  country,  to  the  waters  of  the 
Illinois  river,  and  descended  that  river  a 
considerable  distance,  when  he  was  stopped 
for  want  of  supplies.  This  was  occasioned 
by  the  loss  of  a  boat,  which  had  been  sent 
from  his  post  on  Green  bay.  He  was  now 
compelled  by  necessity  to  build  a  fort,  which, 
on  account  of  the  anxiety  of  mind  he  expe- 
rienced, was  called  Creve-cceur,  or  broken 
heart. 

The  position  of  this  fort  cannot  now  be  as- 
certained, but  from  some  appearances,  it  is 
thought  to  have  been  near  Spring  bay,  in  the 
north-east  part  of  Tazewell  county. 

At  this  period,  the  Illinois  were  engaged  hi 
a  war  with  the  Iroquois,  a  numerous,  warlike, 
and  cruel  nation,  with  whom  La  Salle  had 
traded,  while  on  the  borders  of  Canada.  The 
former,  according  to  Indian  notions  of  friend- 
ship, expected  assistance  from  the  French; 
but  the  interests  and  safety  of  La  Salle  de- 
pended upon  terminating  this  warfare,  and  to 
this  object  he  directed  his  strenuous  efforts. 
The  suspicious  Illinois  construed  this  into 
treachery,  which  was  strengthened  by  the 
malicious  and  perfidious  conduct  of  some  of  his 
own  men,  and  pronounced  upon  him  the  sen- 
tence of  death.  Immediately  he  formed  and 
executed  the  bold  and  hazardous  project  of 

foing  alone  and  unarmed  to  the  camp  of  the 
llinois,  and  vindicating  his  conduct.     He  de- 


GENERAL    VIEW.  47 

clared  his  innocence  of  the  charges,  arid  de- 
manded the  author.  He  urged  that  the  war 
should  be  terminated,  and  that  the  hostile  na- 
tions should  live  in  peace. 

The  coolness,  bravery,  and  eloquence  of 
La  Salle  filled  the  Indians  with  astonishment, 
and  entirely  changed  their  purposes.  The 
calumet  was  smoked,  presents  mutually  ex- 
changed, and  a  treaty  of  amity  concluded. 

The  original  project  of  discovery  was  now 
pursued.  Father  Hennepin  started  on  the 
28th  of  February,  1680,  and,  having  passed 
down  the  Illinois,  ascended  the  Mississippi, 
to  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony.  Here  he  was 
taken  prisoner,  robbed,  and  carried  to  the 
Indian  villages,  from  which  he  made  his  es- 
cape, returned  to  Canada,  by  the  way  of  the 
Wisconsin,  and  from  thence  to  France,  where 
he  published  an  account  of  his  travels.* 

La  Salle  visited  Canada  to  obtain  sup- 
plies, returned  to  Creve-cceur,  and  shortly 
after  descended  the  Illinois  and  then  the  Mis- 
sissippi, where  he  built  one  or  two  forts  on  its 
banks,  and  took  possession  of  the  country  in 
the  name  of  the  king  of  France,  and  in  honor 
of  him  called  it  Louisiana. 

One  of  these  forts  is  thought  to  have  been 
built  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  between 
St.  Louis  and  Carondalet. 

After    descending    the   Mississippi,    to    its 

*  It  is  difficult  to  determine  when  Hennepin  writes  truth 
or  fiction.  Some  of  his  statements  must  be  received  with 
considerable  drawback. 


48  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

mouth,  he  returned  to  the  Illinois,  and  on  his 
way  back,  left  some  of  his  companions  to  oc- 
cupy the  country.  This  is  supposed  to  have 
been  the  commencement  of  the  villages  of 
Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  in  1683.  La  Salle 
went  to  France,  fitted  out  an  expedition  to 
form  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi, 
sailed  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  but  not  being 
able  to  find  the  mouths  of  that  river,  he  com- 
menced an  overland  journey  to  his  fort  on  the 
Illinois.  On  this  journey,  he  was  basely  as- 
sassinated by  two  of  his  own  n*en.* 

After  the  death  of  La  Salle,  no  attempts  to 
discover  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  were 
made  till  about  1699,  but  the  settlements  in 
the  Illinois  country  were  gradually  increased 
by  emigrants  from  Canada. 

In  1712,  the  king  of  France,  by  letters  pa- 
tent, gave  the  whole  country  of  Louisiana  to 
M.  Crosat,  with  the  commerce  of  the  country, 
with  the  profits  of  all  the  mines,  reserving  for 
his  own  use,  one  fifth  of  the  gold  and  silver. 
After  expending  large  sums,  in  digging  and 
exploring  for  the  precious  metals,  without 
success,  Crosat  gave  up  his  privilege  to  the 
king,  in  1717.  Soon  after,  the  colony  was 
granted  to  the  Mississippi  company,  projected 
by  Mr.  Law,  which  took  possession  of  Louis- 

*  La  Salle  appears  to  have  discovered  the  bay  of  St. 
Bernard,  and  formed  a  settlement  on  the  western  side  of 
the  Colorado,  in  1685. — See  J.  Q.  Adams's  Correspon- 
dence with  Don  Orris.  Pub.  Doc.,  first  session  tfifteentli. 
Congress,  1818. 


GENERAL    VIEW.  49 

iana,  and  appointed  M.  Bienville,  governor. 
In  1719,  La  Harpe  commanded  a  fort,  with 
French  troops,  not  far  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri  river. 

Shortly  after,  several  forts  were  built  with- 
in the  present  limit  of  Illinois,  of  which,  Fort 
Chartres  was  the  most  considerable.  By 
these  means,  a  chain  of  communication  was 
formed  from  Canada,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi. 

In  1699,  M.  Ibberville  arrived  in  the  gulf 
of  Mexico,  with  two  frigates,  and,  in  March, 
ascended  the  river,  in  a  felucca,  one  hundred 
leagues,  and  returned  by  the  bayou  or  outlet 
that  bears  his  name,  through  lake  Ponchar- 
train  to  the  gulf.  He  planted  his  colony  at 
Biloxi,  a  healthy  but  sterile  spot,  between  the 
Mobile  and  Mississippi  rivers,  and  built  a  for- 
tification. During  several  succeeding  years, 
much  exploring  was  done,  and  considerable 
trade  carried  on  with  the  Indians,  for  peltries, 
yet  these  expeditions  were  a  source  of  much 
expense  to  France. 

In  January,  1702,  the  colony  at  Mobile  was 
planted;  several  other  settlements  were  soon 
after  formed.  The  Catholics  also  commenced 
several  missions  amongst  the  Indians.  Diffi- 
culties frequently  occurred  with  their  Spanish 
neighbors  in  Florida  and  Mexico. 

M.  Ibberville  died  in  1706,  and  M.  Bienville 
succeeded  him  in  the  government  of  Louisiana 
for  many  years.  The  city  of  New  Orleans 
was  founded,  during  his  administration,  in 


50  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

1719.  It  is  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  one  hundred  and  five  miles  from 
its  mouth.  From  1723  to  1730,  the  French 
had  exterminating  wars  with  the  Natchez,  a 
powerful  nation  of  Indians.  They  had  killed 
700  French  in  1723,  and  about  1730  the 
French  exterminated  the  nation.  Various 
wars  took  place  subsequently  with  the  Span- 
ish and  English.  But  over  most  of  the  In- 
dians along  the  Mississippi,  these  French 
colonists  gained  extraordinary  influence.  Du- 
ring this  period,  emigrants  continued  to  arrive 
from  France,  so  that  the  colonists  rapidly  in- 
creased in  numbers. 

The  Mississippi  land  scheme,  or  "bubble," 
as  it  was  called,  originated  with  the  celebra- 
ted John  Law,  in  1717,  which  soon  burst,  and 
spread  ruin  throughout  the  moneyed  interests 
of  France.  The  amount  of  stock  created, 
was  said  to  equal  310,000,000  of  dollars. 
The  whole  proved  an  entire  failure,  but  it 
served  to  increase  greatly  the  population  of 
Louisiana,  so  that,  from  1736,  the  colonies  in 
the  Lower  Valley  prospered. 

In  1754,  the  war  commenced  between 
France  and  England  relative  to  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  Canadas.  At  that  period,  France 
claimed  all  the  countries  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghany  mountains,  while  England,  on  the  other 
hand,  had  granted  to  Virginia,  Connecticut 
and  other  colonies,  charters  which  extended 
across  the  continent  to  the  "South  sea,"  as 
the  Pacific  ocean  was  then  called.  A  grant 


GENERAL    VIEW.  51 

also  was  made  by  Virginia,  and  the  crown  of 
Great  Britain,  of  600,000  acres,  to  a  company 
called  "The  Ohio  Company."  The  governor 
of  New  France,  as  Canada  and  Louisiana 
was  then  called,  protested,  erected  forts  on 
lake  Erie,  and  at  the  present  site  of  Pittsburgh, 
and  enlisted  the  Indians  against  the  English 
and  Americans.  Pittsburgh  was  then  called 
Fort  du  Quesne.  Then  followed  Braddock's 
war,  as  this  contest  is  called,  in  the  West, — 
the  mission  of  Major  (afterward  General) 
Washington, — the  defeat  of  Braddock;  and, 
finally,  by  the  memorable  victory  of  Wolfe  at 
Quebec,  and  the  lesser  ones  at  Niagara  and 
Ticonderoga,  and  by  victories  of  the  English 
fleet  on  the  ocean,  the  French  were  humbled, 
and,  at  the  treaty  of  Paris,  in  1763,  surren- 
dered all  their  claims  to  the  country  east  of 
the  Mississippi.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
war,  however,  France,  by  a  secret  treaty, 
ceded  all  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  including  New  Orleans,  to  Spain,  who 
held  possession  till  1803,  when  it  was  deliver- 
ed to  the  French  government  under  Napoleon, 
and  by  him  ceded  to  the  United  States  for 
15,000,000  of  dollars. 

The  English  held  possession  of  the  military 
posts,  and  exercised  jurisdiction  over  the 
country  of  Illinois,  and  the  adjacent  regions, 
till  1778,  during  the  revolutionary  war;  when, 
by  a  secret  expedition,  without  direct  legisla- 
tive sanction,  but  by  a  most  enterprising, 
skilful,  and  hazardous  military  manoeuvre,  the 


52  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

» 

posts  of  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  Fort  Chartres 
and  Vincennes  were  captured  by  Gen.  GEORGE 
ROGERS  CLARK,  with  a  small  force  of  volun- 
teer Americans,  and  that  portion  of  the  Valley 
fell  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Virginia. 

The  legislature  of  Virginia  sanctioned  the 
expedition  of  Clark,  which  the  Executive, 
Patrick  Henry  and  his  council,  with  Thomas 
Jefferson,  George  Wythe,  and  George  Ma- 
son, by  written  instructions,  had  agreed 
should  be  done,  and  a  county  called  "Illi- 
nois" was  organized  the  same  year. 

In  1784,  Virginia,  in  conjunction  with  other 
States,  ceded  all  claims  to  the  Great  West  to 
the  United  States,  reserving  certain  tracts  for 
the  payment  of  revolutionary  claims.  This 
cession  laid  the  foundation  for  five  new  States 
north-west  of  Ohio,  when  each  district  should 
have  60,000  inhabitants,  and  even  a  less 
number,  by  consent  of  Congress.  Two  re- 
strictions were  peremptorily  enjoined, — that 
each  State  should  adopt  a  constitution  with  a 
republican  form  of  government,  and  that  slave- 
ry or  involuntary  servitude  should  be  for 
ever  prohibited. 

It  is  unnecessary  here  to  enter  into  details 
of  the  settlement  of  each  particular  State, — 
the  incessant  attacks  from  the  Indians, — the 
border  wars  that  ensued, — the  adventures 
of  Boone  and  his  associates  in  settling  Ken- 
tucky,— the  unfortunate  campaigns  of  Har- 
mar  and  St.  Clair, — -the  victorious  one  of 
Wayne, — or  the  reminiscences  and  events  of 


GENERAL    VIEW.  53 

• 

the  war  of  1812,  and  its  termination  in  1815. 
Some  historical  notices  of  each  State  may  be 
found  in  their  proper  place. 

Prospective  Increase  of  Population.  For  a 
long  period,  in  the  States  of  the  West,  the  in- 
crease of  population  was  slow,  and  retarded 
by  several  causes.  Difficulties  of  a  formida- 
ble character  had  to  be  surmounted.  The 
footsteps  of  the  American  emigrants  were 
every  where  drenched  in  blood,  shed  by  infu- 
riated savage  foes,  and  before  1790,  more 
than  5000  persons  had  been  murdered,  or 
taken  captive  and  lost  to  the  settlements. 
"It  has  been  estimated,  that,  in  the  short 
space  of  seven  years,  from  1783  to  1790, 
more  than  fifteen  hundred  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Kentucky  were  either  massacred  or  carried 
away  into  a  captivity  worse  than  death,  by 
the  Indians  ;  and  an  equal  number  from 
Western  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  in  the 
same  period,  met  with  a  similar  fate.  The 
settlers  on  the  frontiers  were  almost  constant- 
ly, for  a  period  of  forty  years,  harassed 
either  by  actual  attacks  of  the  savages,  or  the 
daily  expectation  of  them.  The  tomahawk 
and  the  scalping-knife  were  the  objects  of 
their  fears  by  day  and  by  night."* 

Hence,  in  suggesting  reasons  showing  why 
the  population  of  this  Valley  must  increase  in 
future  in  a  far  greater  ratio  than  in  the  past, 
it  will  appear, 

1.  That  the  most  perfect  security  is  now 

*  Baird. 


54  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

enjoyed  by  all  emigrants,  both  for  their  fami- 
lies and  property. 

By  the  wise  and  beneficent  arrangement  of 
government,  the  Indian  tribes  have  nearly  all 
removed  to  the  Territory  specially  allotted 
for  their  occupancy  west  of  Missouri  and  Ar- 
kansas. The  grand  error  committed  in  past 
times  in  relation  to  the  Indians,  and  which 
has  been  the  source  of  incalculable  evils  to 
both  races,  has  been  the  want  of  definite, 
fixed  and  permanent  lines  of  demarcation  be- 
twixt them.  It  will  be  seen,  under  the  proper 
head,  that  a  system  of  measures  is  now  in 
operation  that  will  not  only  preserve  peace 
between  the  frontier  settlements  and  the  In- 
dian tribes,  but  that,  to  a  great  extent,  they 
are  becoming  initiated  into  the  habits  of  civil- 
ized life.  There  is  now  no  more  danger  to 
the  population  of  these  States  and  Territories 
from  Indian  depredations,  than  to  the  people 
of  the  Atlantic  States. 

2.  The  increased  facilities  of  emigration, 
and  the  advantage  of  sure  and  certain  mar- 
kets for  every  species  of  production,  furnish 
a  second  reason  why  population  will  increase 
in  the  Western  Valley  beyond  any  former  pe- 
riod. 

Before  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  the  west- 
ern people  had  no  outlet  for  their  produce, 
and  the  chief  mode  of  obtaining  every  de- 
scription of  merchandise, — even  salt  and  iron, 
— was  by  the  slow  and  expensive  method  of 


GENERAL    VIEW.  55 

transportation  by  wagons  and  pack-horses, 
across  almost  impassable  mountains  and  ex- 
tremely difficult  roads.  Now,  every  conven- 
ience and  luxury  of  life  is  carried,  with  com- 
parative ease,  to  every  town  and  settlement 
throughout  the  Valley,  and  every  species  of 
produce  is  sent  off,  in  various  directions,  to 
every  port  on  earth,  if  necessary.  And  these 
facilities  are  multiplying  and  increasing  every 
hour.  Turnpike  roads,  rail-roads,  canals, 
and  steam-boat  navigation  have  already  pro- 
vided such  facilities  for  removing  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Western  States,  that  no  family 
desirous  of  removing,  need  hesitate  or  make 
a  single  inquiry  as  to  facilities  of  getting  to 
this  country. 

3.  The  facilities  of  trade  and  intercourse 
between  the  different  sections  of  the  Valley, 
are  now  superior  to  most  countries,  and  are 
increasing  every  year.  And  no  country  on 
earth  admits  of  such  indefinite  improvement, 
either  by  land  or  water.  More  than  twenty 
thousand  miles  of  actual  steam-boat  naviga- 
tion, with  several  hundred  miles  of  canal  nav- 
igation, constructed  or  commenced,  attest  the 
truth  of  this  statement.  The  first  steam-boat 
on  the  western  waters  was  built  at  Pittsburgh 
in  1811,  and  not  more  than  seven  or  eight 
had  been  built,  when  the  writer  emigrated  to 
this  country  in  1817.  At  this  period  (Janu- 
ary, 1836),  there  are  several  hundred  boats 
an  the  western  waters,  and  some  of  the  larg- 
est size.  In  1817,  about  twenty  barges, 


56  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

averaging  about  one  hundred  tons  each,  per- 
formed the  whole  commercial  business  of 
transporting  merchandise  from  New  Orleans 
to  Louisville  and  Cincinnati.  Each  perform- 
ed one  trip,  going  and  returning  within  the 
year.  About  150  keel-boats  performed  the 
business  on  the  Upper  Ohio  to  Pittsburgh. 
These  averaged  about  30  tons  each,  and  were 
employed  one  month  in  making  the  voyage 
from  Louisville  to  Pittsburgh.  Three  days,  or 
three  days  and  a  half,  is  now  the  usual  time 
occupied  by  the  steam-packets  between  the 
two  places,  and  from  seven  to  twelve  days 
between  Louisville  and  New  Orleans.  Four 
days  is  the  time  of  passing  from  the  former 
place  to  St.  Louis. 

4.  A  fourth  reason  why  population  will  in- 
crease in  future  in  a  greater  ratio  than  the 
past,  is  derived  from  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion in  the  Atlantic  States,  and  the  greater 
desire  foe  removal  to  the  West.  At  the  close 
of  the  revolutionary  war,  the  population  of 
the  whole  Union  but  little  exceeded  two  mil- 
lions. Vast  tracts  of  wilderness  then  existed 
in  the  old  States,  which  have  since  been  sub- 
dued, and  from  whence  thousands  of  enter- 
prising citizens  are  pressing  their  way  into 
the  Great  Valley.  Two  thirds  of  the  territo- 
ry of  New  York,  large  portions  of  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont  and  Maine,  an  exten- 
sive district  in  Middle  Pennsylvania,  to  say 
nothing  of  wide  regions  in  the  Southern  States, 
were  comprised  in  this  wilderness.  These 


GENERAL    VIEW.  57 

extensive  regions  have  become  populous,  and 
are  sending  out  vast  numbers  of  emigrants  to 
the  West.  Europe  is  in  commotion,  and  the 
emigration  to  North  America,  in  1832,  reach- 
ed 200,000,  a  due  proportion  of  which  settle 
in  the  Western  Valley. 

5.  A  fifth  reason  will  be  founded  upon  the 
immense  amount  of  land  for  the  occupancy  of 
an  indefinite  number  of  emigrants,  much  of 
which  will  not  cost  the  purchaser  over  one 
dollar  and  tiventy-five  cents  per  acre.  Without 
giving  the  extravagant  estimates  that  have 
been  made  by  many  writers,  of  the  wide  and 
uninhabitable  desert  between  the  Indian  Ter- 
ritory west  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas  and  the 
Rocky  mountains,  nor  swampy  and  frozen 
regions  at  the  heads  of  the  Mississippi  river 
and  around  lake  Superior,  I  will  merely  ex- 
hibit the  amount  of  lands  admitting  of  imme- 
diate settlement  and  cultivation,  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  new  States  and  organized 
Territories. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  up  to  the  30th  day  of  Septem- 
ber, 1831,  the  estimated  amount  of  unsold 
lands,  on  which  the  foreign  and  Indian  titles 
had  been  extinguished,  within  the  limits  of  the 
new  States  and  Territories,  was  227,293,884 
acres; — and  that  the  Indian  title  remain- 
ed on  113,577,869  acres*  within  the  same 

*  See  Mr.  Clay's  Report  on  the  Public  Lands,  April  26, 
1832,  U.  S.  Papers. 

3* 


58  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

limits.  The  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office,  in  December,  1827,  estimated 
the  public  domain,  beyond  the  boundaries 
of  the  new  States  and  Territories,  to  be 
750,000,000  of  acres.  Much  of  this,  how- 
ever, is  uninhabitable. 

According  to  the  Report  of  1831,  there 
had  been  granted  to  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
and  Alabama,  for  internal  improvements, 
2,187,665  acres; — for  colleges,  academies, 
and  universities,  in  the  new  States  and  Ter- 
ritories, 508,009; — for  education,  being  the 
thirty-sixth  part  of  the  public  lands  appro- 
priated to  common  schools,  7,952,538  acres; 
— and  for  seats  of  government  to  some  of  the 
new  States  and  Territories,  21,589  acres. 
Up  to  January,  1326,  there  had  been  sold, 
from  the  commencement  of  the  land  system, 
only  19,239,412  acres.  Since  that  period,  to 
the  close  of  1835,  there  have  been  sold,  about 
33,000,000  of  acres,  making  in  all  sold,  a 
little  more  than  52,000,000.  This  statement 
includes  Alabama  and  Florida,  which  we  have 
not  considered  as  strictly  within  the  Valley. 
After  a  hasty  and  somewhat  imperfect  esti- 
mate of  the  public  lands,  that  are  now  in 
market,  or  will  be  brought  into  market  within 
a  few  years,  within  the  limits  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Missouri,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Ar- 
kansas, Michigan,  and  the  Territory  of  Wis- 
consin, the  amount  may  be  put  at  130,000,000 
of  acres.  This  amount  admits  of  immediate 
settlement  and  cultivation,  and  much  of  it  may 


GENERAL    VIEW.  59 

be  put  under  cultivation  without  the  immense 
labor  of  clearing  and  subduing  forest  lands. 

The  comparison  between  the  amount  of 
sales  of  public  lands  within  the  last  ten  years, 
and  the  preceding  forty  years,  shows  that 
emigration  to  the  West  is  increasing  at  a 
ratio  beyond  what  is  ordinarily  supposed,  and 
that  the  next  ten  years  will  find  a  majority  of 
the  population  of  the  United  States  within  this 
Great  Valley. 

Sales  of  Land, 

From  1786  to  1826,  (forty  years)  19,239,412  acres. 
"      1826  "  1835,    (ten  years)    33,000,000      » 

Three  millions  of  families  may  find  farms  in 
the  West. 

The  extensive  prairie  lands  of  Illinois  and 
Missouri  present  no  obstacle  to  the  settle- 
ment of  the  country.  Already,  prairies,  for 
many  miles  in  extent,'  have  been  turned  into 
farms. 

6.  A  sixth  reason  why  the  increase  of  the 
future  population  of  the  Valley  will  greatly 
exceed  the  past,  is  derived  from  the  increased 
confidence  of  the  community  in  the  general 
health  of  the  country.  The  most  unreason- 
able notions  have  prevailed  abroad  relative 
to  the  health  cf  the  Western  States.  All  new 
settlements  are  more  or  less  unfavorable  to 
health,  which,  when  cultivated  and  settled, 
become  healthy.  As  a  separate  chapter  will 
be  devoted  to  this  subject,  I  only  advert  to 
the  fact  now,  of  the  increased  confidence  of 
the  people  in  the  Atlantic  States,  in  the  salu- 


60  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

brity  of  our  western  climate,  which,  already, 
has  tended  to  increase  emigration;  but  which, 
from  facts  becoming  more  generally  known, 
will  operate  to  a  much  greater  extent  in  future. 

7.  I  will  only  add,  that  there  is  already  a 
great  amount  of  intelligence,  and  of  excellent 
society,  in  all  the  settled  portions  of  the  West- 
ern Valley. 

"  The  idea  is  no  longer  entertained  by  east- 
ern people,  that  going  to  the  West,  or  the 
'backwoods,'  as  it  was  formerly  called,  is  to 
remove  to  a  heathen  land,  to  a  land  of  igno- 
rance and  barbarism,  where  the  people  do 
nothing  but  rob,  and  fight,  and  gouge!  Some 
parts  of  the  West  have  obtained  this  charac- 
ter, but  most  undeservedly,  from  the  Fearons, 
the  [Basil]  Halls,  the  Trollopes,  and  other  ig- 
norant and  insolent  travelers  from  England, 
who,  because  they  were  not  allowed  to  insult 
and  outrage  as  they  pleased,  with  Parthian 
spirit,  hurled  back  upon  us  their  poisoned 
javelins  and  darts,  as  they  left  us.  There  is, 
indeed,  much  destitution  of  moral  influence 
and  means  of  instruction  in  many,  very  many, 
neighborhoods  of  the  West.  But  there  is,  in 
all  the  principal  towns,  a  state  of  society, 
with  which  the  most  refined,  I  was  going  to 
say  the  most  fastidious,  of  the  eastern  cities, 
need  not  be  ashamed  to  mingle."* 

The  eastern  emigrant  will  find,  that  whole- 
some legislation,  and  much  of  the  influence 

*  Puird. 


GENERAL    VIEW.  61 

of  religion,  are  enjoyed  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi;  extending  to  him  all  he  can  ask 
in  the  enjoyment  of  his  rights,  and  the  protec- 
tion of  his  property. 

Common  school  systems  have  been  com- 
menced in  some  of  the  States;  others  are 
following  their  example,  and  the  subject  of 
general  education  is  receiving  increasing  at- 
tention every  year.  Colleges,  and  other  lit- 
erary institutions,  are  planted;  and  religious 
institutions,  and  means  of  religious  instruc- 
tion, are  rapidly  increasing.  Noble  and  suc- 
cessful efforts  are  making  by  the  Bible,  mis- 
sionary, tract,  Sabbath  school,  temperance, 
and  other  societies,  in  the  West.  Great  and 
rapid  changes  are  taking  place,  if  not  to  the 
extent  we  desire,  yet  corresponding  in  a  de- 
gree with  the  gigantic  march  of  emigration 
and  population.  Many  other  reasons  might 
be  urged  to  show  that  its  prospective  increase 
of  population  will  vastly  exceed  the  ratio  of  its 
retrospective  increase,  but  these  are  sufficient. 


CHAPTER  III. 


CLIMATE. 

Comparative  View  of  the  Climate  with  the  Atlantic  States 
— Diseases — Means  of  preserving  Health. 

IN  a  country  of  such  vast  extent,  through 
fifteen  degrees  of  latitude,  the  climate  must 
necessarily  be  various.  Louisiana,  Mississip- 
pi, and  the  lower  half  of  Arkansas,  lie  between 
the  latitudes  of  30°  and  35°,  and  correspond 
with  Georgia  and  South  Carolina.  Their 
difference  of  climate  is  not  material.  The 
northern  half  of  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  and 
Kentucky,  lie  west  from  North  Carolina  and 
the  southern  portion  of  Virginia.  The  cli- 
mate varies  from  those  States  only  as  they  are 
less  elevated  than  the  mountainous  parts  of 
Virginia  and  Carolina.  Hence,  the  emigrant 
from  the  southern  Atlantic  States,  unless  he 
comes  from  a  mountainous  region,  will  ex- 
perience no  great  change  of  climate,  by 
emigrating  to  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley. 
Missouri,  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Ohio,  lie  par- 


CLIMATE.  63 

allel  with  the  northern  half  of  Virginia,  Mary- 
land, Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey, 
and  so  much  of  New  York  and  New  England 
as  lies  south  of  latitude  42°  north.  But  seve- 
ral circumstances  combine  to  produce  varia- 
tions in  the  climate: 

1.  Much  of  those  Atlantic  States  are  hilly, 
and,   in   many  parts,    mountainous,   some   of 
which  are  two  and  three  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  ocean.    The  parallel  Western 
States  have  no  mountains,  and  are  riot  propor- 
tionably  hilly. 

2.  The    Atlantic    States    border    on    the 
ocean,  on  the  east,  and  feel  the  influence  of 
the  cold,  damp  winds,  from  the  north-east  and 
east.      Their   rains    are   more    copious,    and 
their  snows  deeper.     The   northern  portions 
of  the   West,   equally  with   New  York  and 
Vermont,  are  affected  with  the  influence  of 
the  lakes,  though  not  to  the  same  extent. 

3.  "  The  courses  of  rivers,  by  changing,  in 
some  degree,  the  direction  of  the  winds,  ex- 
ert an  influence  on  the  climate.     In  the  At- 
lantic States,   from   New  England  to  North 
Carolina,  the  rivers  run  more  or  less  to  the 
south-east,  and  increase  the  winds  which  blow 
from  the  north-west,  while  the  great  bed   of 
the  Mississippi  exerts  an  equal  influence  in 
augmenting  the  number  and  steadiness  of  the 
winds  which  blow  over  it  from  the  south-west; 
and  there    is  another  cause  of  difference  in 
climate,  chiefly  perceptible,  first,  in  the  tem- 
perature,  which,   if  no  counteracting  cause 


64  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

existed,  they  would  raise  in  the  West,  consid- 
erably above  that  of  corresponding  latitudes 
in  the  East;  and,  secondly,  in  the  moisture  of 
the  two  regions,  which  is  generally  greater 
west  than  east  of  the  mountains,  when  the 
south-west  wind  prevails;  as  much  of  the  wa- 
ter, with  which  it  comes  charged  from  the 
gulf  of  Mexico,  is  deposited,  before  it  reaches 
the  country  east  of  the  Alleghanies."* 

It  is  an  error,  that  our  climate  is  more  va- 
riable, or  the  summers  materially  hotter,  than 
in  a  corresponding  latitude  in  the  Atlantic 
States.  "The  New  Englander  and  New 
Yorker,  north  of  the  mountains  of  West 
Point,  should  bear  in  mind,  that  his  migra- 
tion is  not  to  the  west,  but  south-west;  and  as 
necessarily  brings  him  into  a  warmer  climate, 
as  when  he  seeks  the  shores  of  the  Delaware, 
Potomac,  or  James  river." 

The  settlers  from  Virginia  to  Kentucky,  or 
those  from  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  to 
Ohio,  or  farther  west,  have  never  complained 
of  hotter  summers  than  they  had  found  in  the 
land  from  whence  they  came. 

To  institute  a  comparative  estimate  of  tem- 
perature, between  the  East  and  the  West,  we 
must  observe, — first,  the  thermometer;  and, 
secondly,  the  flowering  of  trees,  the  putting 
forth  of  vegetation,  and  the  ripening  of  fruits 
and  grain,  in  correspondent  latitudes.  This 
has  not  usually  been  done.  Philadelphia  and 

*  Dr.  Drake. 


CLIMATE.  65 

Cincinnati  approach  nearer  to  the  same  par- 
allel, than  any  other  places  where  such  ob- 
servations have  been  made.  Cincinnati.,  how- 
ever, is  about  50'  south  of  Philadelphia.  The 
following  remarks  are  from  Dr.  Daniel  Drake, 
of  Cincinnati,  to  whose  pen  the  West  is  much 
indebted: 

"From  a  series  of  daily  observations  in 
Cincinnati,  or  its  vicinity,  for  eight  consecu- 
tive years,  the  mean  annual  temperature  has 
been  ascertained  to  be  54  degrees  and  a  quar- 
ter. Dr.  Rush  states  the  mean  temperature 
of  Philadelphia  at  52  degrees  and  a  half;  Dr. 
Coxe,  from  six  years'  observations,  at  54  de- 
grees and  a  sixth ;  and  Mr.  Legaux,  from  sev- 
enteen years'  observations,  at  Spring  Mill,  a 
few  miles  out  of  the  city,  at  53  degrees  and  a 
third;  the  mean  term  of  which  results,  53  de- 
grees and  a  third,  is  but  the  fraction  of  a  de- 
gree lower  than  the  mean  heat  of  Cincinnati, 
and  actually  less  than  should  be  afforded  by 
the  difference  of  latitude. 

"  A  reference  to  the  temperatures  of  sum- 
mer and  winter,  will  give  nearly  the  same  re- 
sults. From  nine  years'  observations  (three 
at  Spring  Mill,  by  Mr.  Legaux,  and  six  in 
Philadelphia,  by  Dr.  Coxe),  the  mean  sum- 
mer heat  of  that  part  of  Pennsylvania  appears 
to  be  76  degrees  and  six  tenths.  The  mean 
summer  heat  at  Cincinnati,  for  an  equal  num- 
ber of  years,  was  74  degrees  and  four  tenths. 
The  average  number  of  days  in  which  the 
thermometer  rose  to  90  degrees  or  upwards, 
4  * 


66  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

during  the  same  period,  was  fourteen  each 
summer;  and  the  greatest  elevation  observed, 
was  98  degrees;  all  of  which  would  bear  an 
almost  exact  comparison  with  similar  obser- 
vations in  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Legaux  states 
the  most  intense  cold,  at  Spring  Mill,  from 
1787  to  1806,  to  have  been  17  degrees  and 
five  tenths  below  cipher;  while,  within  the 
same  period,  it  was  18  degrees  at  Cincinnati. 
The  average  of  extreme  cold,  for  several 
years,  as  observed  by  Mr.  Legaux,  was  one 
degree  and  eight  tenths  below  cipher:  the 
same  average  at  Cincinnati,  was  two  degrees 
below.  From  all  which,  we  may  conclude 
that  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  and  Ohio,  in 
the  same  latitudes,  have  nearly  the  same 
temperature." 

The  State  of  Illinois,  extending,  as  it  does, 
through  five  and  a  half  degrees  of  latitude, 
has  considerable  variation  in  its  climate.  It 
has  no  mountains,  and,  though  undulating,  it 
cannot  be  called  hilly.  Its  extensive  prairies 
and  level  surface,  give  greater  scope  to  the 
winds,  especially  in  winter.  In  the  southern 
part  of  the  State,  during  the  three  winter 
months,  snow  frequently  falls,  but  seldom  lies 
long.  In  the  northern  part,  the  winters  are 
as  cold,  but  not  so  much  snow  falls,  as  in  the 
same  latitudes  in  the  Atlantic  States. 

The  Mississippi,  at  St.  Louis,  is  frequently 
frozen  over,  and  is  crossed  on  the  ice,  and, 
occasionally,  for  several  weeks.  The  hot 
season  is  longer,  though  not  more  intense, 


CLIMATE.  67 

than  occasionally,  for  a  day  or  two,  in  New 
England. 

During  the  years  1817,  '18,  '19,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Giddings,  at  St.  Louis,  made  a  series  of 
observations  upon  Fahrenheit's  thermometer: 

De?.  Hund. 

Mean  temperature  for  1817, 55  52 

Mean  temperature  from    the    beginning  of 

May,  1818,  to  the  end  of  April,  1819, .  .  56  98 

Mean  temperature  for  1820,. 5G  18 

The  mean  of  these  results  is  about  fifty-six 
degrees  and  a  quarter. 

The  mean  temperature  of  each  month,  du- 
ring the  above  years,  is  as  follows: 

Deg.  Hund. 

January, 30  62 

February, ; 38  65 

March, 43  13 

April, 58  47 

May, 62  66 

June, 74  47 

July, 78  66 

August, 72  88 

September, 70  10 

October, , 59  00 

November, 53  13 

December, 34  33 

The  mean  temperature  of  the  different  sea- 
sons is  as  follows: 

Dog.  Hund. 

Winter, 34  53 

Spring, 54  74 

Summer, 74  34 

Autumn,  .  .  60  77 


68  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

The  greatest  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  du- 
ring my  residence  of  eighteen  years,  in  the 
vicinity  of  St.  Louis,  is  as  follows: 

Greatest  heat  in  July,  1820,  and  July,  1833, 
100  degrees.  Greatest  cold,  Jan.  3d,  1834, 
18  degrees  below  zero;  Feb.  8th,  1835,  22 
degrees  below  zero. 

The  foregoing  facts  will  doubtless  apply  to 
about  one  half  of  Illinois.  This  climate,  also, 
is  subject  to  sudden  changes,  from  heat  to 
cold,  from  wet  to  dry,  especially  from  Novem- 
ber to  May.  The  heat  of  the  summer,  below 
the  fortieth  degree  of  latitude,  is  more  ener- 
vating, and  the  system  becomes  more  easily 
debilitated,  than  in  the  bracing  atmosphere  of 
a  more  northerly  region. 

At  Marietta,  Ohio,  in  latitude  39°  25'  north, 
and  at  the  junction  of  the  Muskingum  river 
with  the  Ohio,  the  mean  temperature,  for 

1834,  was  52  degrees  and  four  tenths;   high- 
est, in  August,  95  degrees;  lowest,  January, 
at  zero.     Fair  days,  225;   cloudy  days,  110. 

At  Nashville,  Tenn.,  1834,  the  mean  tem- 
perature was  59  degrees  and  seventy-six  hun- 
dredths;  maximum  97,  minimum  four  above 
zero.  The  summer  temperature  of  this  place 
never  reaches  100  degrees.  January  26th. 
1832,  18  degrees  below  zero;  February  8th. 

1835,  10  degrees  below  zero. 

The  putting  forth  of  vegetation  in  the  spring, 
furnishes  some  evidence  of  the  character  of 
the  climate  of  any  country,  though  by  no 


CLIMATE.  69 

means  entirely  accurate.  Other  causes  com- 
bine to  advance  or  retard  vegetation.  A  wet 
or  dry  season,  or  a  few  days  of  heat  or  cold, 
at  a  particular  crisis,  will  produce  material 
changes. 

The  following  table  is  constructed  from 
memoranda,  made  at  the  various  dates  given, 
near  the  latitude  of  St.  Louis,  which  is  com- 
puted at  38°  3(X.  The  observations  of  1819, 
were  made  at  St.  Charles,  and  vicinity,  in 
the  State  of  Missouri.  Those  of  1820,  in  St. 
Louis  county,  17  miles  north-west  from  the 
city  of  St.  Louis.  The  remainder,  at  Rock 
Spring,  Illinois,  18  miles  east  from  St.  Louis. 
It  will  be  perceived,  the  years  are  not  con- 
secutive. In  1826,  the  writer  was  absent  to 
the  Eastern  States,  and,  for  1828,  his  notes 
were  too  imperfect  to  answer  the  purpose. 

In  the  column  showing  the  times  of  the  first 
snows,  and  the  first  and  last  frosts  in  the  sea- 
son, a  little  explanation  may  be  necessary. 
A  "light"  snow  means  merely  enough  to 
whiten  the  earth,  and  which  usually  disap- 
pears in  a  few  hours. 

Many  of  the  frosts  recorded  "light,"  were 
not  severe  enough  to  kill  ordinary  vege- 
tation. 


70 


PECK'S  GUIDE. 


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CLIMATE.  71 

These  observations,  upon  a  comparison 
with  the  same  parallels  of  latitude  in  the 
Eastern  States,  show  that  there  is  no  material 
difference  of  climate  between  the  two  sections 
of  our  country,  except  that  produced  by  local 
causes,  as  mountainous  districts,  contiguity 
to  the  ocean,  &c. 

A  similar  error  has  existed  in  relation  to 
sudden  and  extreme  changes  of  weather  in 
the  West.  People  who  emigrate  to  a  new 
country,  have  their  curiosity  awakened,  and, 
perhaps,  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives, 
become  quite  observing  of  such  changes. 
From  habitually  observing  the  weather,  the 
impression  is  produced  on  their  minds  that 
there  is  a  marked  difference  in  this  climate. 
Dr.  Rush  declares  that  there  is  but  one  steady 
trait  in  the  character  of  the  climate  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  that  is,  it  is  uniformly  variable  ± 
and  he  asserts  that  he  has  known  the  ther- 
mometer to  fall  20  degrees  in  one  hour  and  a 
half.  March  26-27,  1818,  the  thermometer, 
in  St.  Louis,  fell  41  degrees  in  thirty  hours, — 
from  83  degrees  to  42  degrees.  I  have  no 
record  or  recollection  of  a  more  sudden 
change,  in  eighteen  years.  Mr.  Legaux  saw 
it  fall,  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  47  de- 
grees in  twenty-four  hours;  and  Dr.  Drake 
states  that  this  is  five  degrees  more  than  any 
impression  ever  observed  in  Cincinnati,  in  the 
same  length  of  time.  Emigrants  from  New 
England  and  the  northern  part  of  New  York 


72 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


State  must  not  expect  to  find  the  same  climate 
in  the  West,  at  38  or  40  degrees;  but  let 
them  remove  to  the  same  parallel  of  latitude 
in  the  West,  to  Wisconsin,  or  the  northern 
part  of  Illinois,  and  they  will  probably  find  a 
climate  far  morn  uniform  than  the  land  of 
their  birth. 

Prevailing  winds  modify  and  affect  the  cli- 
mate of  every  country.  South-westwardly 
winds  prevail  along  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
The  following  tabular  view  of  observations 
made  at  Cincinnati,  by  Dr.  D.  Drake,  for  six 
succeeding  years,  with  so  few  omissions,  that 
they  amount  to  4200, .will  give  further  illus- 
trations of  this  subject.  They  have  been 
brought  from  eight  points  of  the  compass: 

Observations. 


MONTHS. 

=  .     JU. 

S.        3.  MV.      N.    K: 

N.  \V. 

'.:. 

if. 

CALM. 

January,  .... 
February,  .... 
March,  

6 
5 
10 

7 
7 
9 
6 
6 
6 
9 
9 

2 

a 

i 

13 
13 
16 
24 
19 
23 
19 
23 
23 
24 
13 
11 

S 
8 
11 
10 
10 
12 
11 
10 
9 
6 

I 

0 
5 
2 
1 
0 
1 
1 

e 

21 

14 
10 
8 
10 
7 
11 
12 
8 
10 
10 
15 

S 
0 
0 

2 
2 

•' 
2 

<> 
6 
fr 

8 
4 

* 
4 

1 
3 

4' 
7 
«i 

6 
8 
4 
5 
6 
3 
4 
6 
3 
3 
5 
9 

April,  
May,  
June,  
July,  .  .  . 

Angust,  

September,  .  .  . 
October,  
November,  .  .  . 
December,  .  .  . 
Total, 

87 

14 

221 

106 

14 

136 

16,50     62 

CLIMATE.  73 

The  results  of  my  own  observations,  made 
for  twelve  years,  with  the  exception  of  1826, 
and  with  some  irregularity,  from  traveling  in 
different  parts  of  Missouri  and  Illinois,  during 
the  time,  do  not  vary  in  any  material  degree 
from  the  above  table,  excepting  fewer  east 
and  north-east  winds. 

Dr.  Drake  has  given  a  table,  setting  forth 
the  results  of  4268  observations  on  the  state 
of  the  weather  at  Cincinnati,  from  which  it 
will  be  perceived  that  of  the  365  days  in  a 
year,  about  176  will  be  fair,  105  cloudy,  and 
84  variable. 

Dr.  L.  C.  Beck  made  similar  observations 
at  St.  Louis,  during  the  year  1820,  which 
produced  the  result  of  245  clear  days,  and 
cloudy,  including  variable  days,  1 10. 


Variable  days. 
68 
91 
85 
107 
68 
74 


Years. 

Clear  days. 

Cloudy  days. 

1 

.  .  .  .180 

107 

2 

.  .    .  .158 

112 

3.  . 

187 

78 

4 

152 

106 

5 

185 

111 

6 

172 

112 

Total,  6 

1034 

626 

Mean  terms, 

172.  33 

104.  33 

493 
82.16 


The  following  table  shows  the  condition  of 
the  weather,  in  each  month  of  a  mean  year, 
for  the  above  period: 


74 


Months.        Clear  days.  Cloudy  days.      Variable  days. 

January, 9.  8  13.  1  7.  8 

February, 10.  3  12.  0  6.  5 

March,    13.  5  9.  1  8.  3 

April, 13.1  10.8  7.6 

May, 15.  0  8.  5  7.  5 

June, 15.  5  5.  0  9.  6 

July, 19.  0  5.  5  6.  0 

August, 19.  6  4.  6  6.  5 

September,  ...  19.  5  5.  3  6.  1 

October, 16.  1  6.  0  8.  1 

November,  ...   9.  5  13.  5  5.  5 

December,   ...   9.  6  14.  1  5.  8 

There  would  be  some  variations  from  the 
foregoing  table,  in  a  series  of  observations  in 
the  country  bordering  upon  the  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi and  Missouri.  The  weather  in  the 
States  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  is,  doubtless, 
more  or  less  affected  in  autumn,  by  the  rains 
that  fall  on  the  Alleghany  mountains,  and  the 
rise  of  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries.  So  the 
weather  in  the  months  of  April,  May  and 
June,  in  Missouri,  is  affected  by  the  spring 
floods  of  the  Missouri  and  Mississippi  rivers. 

The  following  table  is  constructed  from  a 
series  of  observations  made  at  the  military 
posts  in  the  West,  by  the  surgeons  of  the 
United  States  army,  for  four  years, — 1822, 
1823,  1824  and  1825.  (See  American  Alma- 
nac for  1834,  p.  81.) 


CLIMATE. 


75 


ffflf 

fcfS-1.8.^ 
Br2,2-3  sg- 

B_  _T3    g  9   • 

5'§.-~'o  ^  I' 

Hi  ill 


mil 


3  i. 


f 


Ml? 


f  ^ 


:  * 


i^i 


i—  CO 
CO  t>3 


CO  Or         05  <l 


O      CO 
^      H-" 


00       O  •  W 

CO      QO  Ot 


—    wi          h-> 
CJ1  O         CO 


iti! 


00      CO      tO  10         CO  tO         tO 

H-      0      CO  t^         00  Ot         CO 


North  latitude 


Elevation 
above  ocean. 


Mean  Temp. 
for  four  years. 


Maximum. 


Minimum 


Range  of 
Thermometer. 


*».  C5  05  <l  01 

*^  o»  to  co  cn 

tp  j>.  to  co  o 

•Jl  tO  CO  *».  OX 

to  co  cc  m  <i 

Or  CJt   *^l  Gi  -^l 

i-i~i-"  tO  to" 


to  i  §•: 

to  l^j 

~^  Tl7! 

00  <?! 


76  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Diseases,  means  of  preserving  Health,  fyc. 
Of  the  Lower  Valley,  I  shall  say  but  very 
little.  Dr.  Drake  observes:  "The  diseases 
of  this  portion  of  the  great  Valley  are  few, 
and  prevail  chiefly  in  summer  and  autumn. 
They  are  the  offspring  of  the  combined  ac- 
tion of  intense  heat  and  marsh  exhalation." 
They  are,  generally,  remittent  and  inter- 
mittent bilious  fevers.  Emigrants  most  gen- 
erally undergo  a  seasoning,  or  become  accli- 
mated. Many  persons,  however,  from  the 
Northern  and  Middle  States  and  from  Europe, 
enjoy  health.  In  sickly  situations,  these  fe- 
vers are  apt  to  return,  and  often  prove  fatal. 
They  frequently  enfeeble  the  constitution, 
and  produce  chronic  inflammation  of  the 
liver,  enlargement  of  the  spleen,  or  terminate 
in  jaundice  or  dropsy,  and  disorder  the  diges- 
tive organs.  When  persons  find  themselves 
subject  to  repeated  attacks,  the  only  safe 
resource  is  an  annual  migration  to  a  more 
northern  climate,  during  the  summer.  Many 
families  from  New  Orleans,  and  other  ex- 
posed situations,  retire  to  the  pine  barrens 
of  Louisiana,  in  the  hot  and  sickly  season, 
where  limpid  streams,  flowing  over  a  pebbly 
bed,  and  a  terebinthine  atmosphere,  are  en- 
joyed. Eight  months  of  the  year  are  pleasant 
and  healthy  in  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley. 

The  advice  of  Dr.  Drake  is,  that  "Those 
who  migrate  from  a  colder  climate  to  the 
southern  Mississippi  States,  should  observe 
the  following  directions:  1st.  To  arrive  there 


DISEASES.  77 

in  autumn,  instead  of  spring  or  summer.  2d. 
If  practicable,  to  spend  the  hottest  part  of  the 
first  two  or  three  years  in  a  higher  latitude. 
3d.  To  select  the  healthiest  situations.  4th. 
To  live  temperately.  5th.  To  preserve  a  reg- 
ular habit.  Lastly,  to  avoid  the  heat  of  the 
sun,  from  ten  in  the  morning  till  four  in  the 
afternoon;  and,  above  all,  the  night  air.  By 
a  strict  attention  to  these  rules,  many  would 
escape  the  diseases  of  the  climate,  who  an- 
nually sink  under  its  baleful  influence." 

Those  States  and  Territories  to  which  this 
work  is  intended  more  immediately  as  a 
Guide,  do  not  differ  very  materially  in  salu- 
brity. The  same  general  features  are  found 
in  each.  There  is  but  little  diversity  in  cli- 
mate; their  geological  and  physical  structure 
coincide,  and  the  experience  of  many  years 
shows  that  there  is  no  great  difference.  \Vhere 
autumnal  fevers  are  common,  they  are  usually 
of  similar  character.  The  same  causes  for  dis- 
ease, exist  in  Ohio  as  in  Missouri;  in  Michigan 
as  in  Illinois;  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  as 
in  Indiana.  All  these  States  are  much  more 
infested  with  the  maladies  which  depend  on 
variations  of  temperature,  than  the  States 
farther  south.  All  have  localities  where  in- 
termittents  and  agues  are  found,  and  all 
possess  extensive  districts  of  country  where 
health  is  enjoyed  by  a  very  large  proportion 
of  emigrants.  There  is  some  difference  be- 
tween a  heavily  timbered  and  a  prairie  coun- 
try, in  favor  of  the  latter,  other  circumstances 


78  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

being  equal.  Changes,  favorable  to  continu- 
ed health,  are  produced  by  the  settlement 
and  cultivation  of  any  particular  portion  of 
country.  Of  one  fact,  I  have  long  since  sat- 
isfied my  mind, — that  ordinary  fevers  are  not 
caused  by  the  use  of  the  water  of  the  West. 

Exceptions  may  be  made  in  some  few  cases, 
where  a  vein  of  water  is  impregnated  with 
some  deleterious  mineral  substance.  The 
use  of  a  well,  dug  in  the  vicinity  of  a  coal-bed 
in  Illinois,  was  supposed  to  have  caused  sick- 
ness in  a  family,  for  two  seasons.  Any  offen- 
sive property  in  water  is  readily  detected  by 
the  taste.  Cool,  refreshing  water  is  a  great 
preservative  of  health.  It  is  common  for 
families,  who  aro  too  indifferent  to  their  com- 
fort to  dig  a  well,  to  use  the  tepid,  muddy 
water  of  the  small  streams,  in  the  frontier 
States,  during  the  summer,  or  to  dig  a  shallow 
well,  and  wall  it  with  timber,  which  soon  im- 
parts an  offensive  taste  to  the  water.  Water 
of  excellent  quality,  may  be  found  in  springs, 
or  by  digging  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet, 
throughout  the  Western  States.  Most  of  the 
water,  thus  obtained,  is  hard  water,  from  its 
limestone  qualities,  but  it  is  most  unquestion- 
ably healthy.  Those  persons  who  emigrate 
from  a  region  of  sandstone,  or  primitive  rock, 
where  water  is  soft,  will  find  our  limestone 
water  to  produce  a  slight  affection  of  the 
bowels,  which  will  prove  more  advantageous 
to  health,  than  otherwise,  and  which  will  last 
but  a  few  weeks.  Whenever  disease  prevails 


DISEASES.  79 

in  the  Western  States,  it  may,  generally,  be 
attributed  to  one  or  more  of  the  following 
causes: 

1.  Variations  of  temperature.      This  cause, 
we    have    already   shown,  exists  to  as  great 
extent  in  the  same  latitude  east  of  the  moun- 
tains. 

2.  The    rapid    decomposition    of   vegetable 
matter.     In  all  our  rich  lands,  there  are  vast 
quantities  of  vegetable  matter  mixed  with  the 
soil,  or  spread   over  the  surface.      Extreme 
hot  weather,  following  especially  a  season  of 
much  rain,    before  the   middle   of  July,  will 
produce  sickness.     If  the  early  part  of  sum- 
mer be  tolerably  dry,  although  a  hot  season 
follows,  sickness  does  not  generally  prevail. 
The  year  1820  was  an  exception  to  this  rule. 
It  was  a  very  dry,  hot,   sickly  year  through 
the  West,  indeed,  throughout  the  world.     A 
wet    season,   with  a  moderately   cool  atmos- 
phere, has  proved  healthy. 

3.  Marsh   exhalations.      These,    combined 
with  heat,  will  always  generate  fevers.     In- 
deed, there  is  probably  very  little  difference 
in  the    miasm   thrown   off  from   decomposed 
vegetable    matter,    and    that    produced    from 
sluggish  streams,  standing  waters  and  marsh- 
es.    These,  in  the  great  Valley,  abound  with 
decayed  vegetable  matter.     Hence,  along  the 
streams   which  have  alluvial  bottoms  (as  low 
lands,  upon  streams,  are  called  in  the  West), 
some  of  which  are  annually  overflowed,  and 
where    the   timber    and   luxuriant   vegetable 


80 


growth  are  but  partially  subdued,  the  inhabi- 
tants are  liable  to  fevers,  dysenteries  and 
agues.  Situations  directly  under  the  bluffs, 
adjacent  to  the  bottom  lands,  that  lie  upon 
our  large  rivers,  especially  when  the  vege- 
tation is  unsubdued,  have  proved  unhealthy. 
So  have  situations  at  the  heads  or  in  the  slope 
of  the  ravines  that  put  down  from  the  bluffs 
towards  the  rivers. 

The  principal  diseases  that  prevail,  may  be 
stated  as  follows:  In  the  winter,  and  early  in 
the  spring,  severe  colds,  inflammation  of  the 
lungs  and  pleurisies  are  most  common.  The 
genuine  hereditary  consumption  of  New  Eng- 
land is  rare,  and  families  and  individuals  pre- 
disposed to  that  disease,  might  often  be  pre- 
served, by  migration  to  this  Valley.  Acute 
inflammation  of  the  brain,  and  inflammatory 
rheumatism  are  not  unusual  at  that  season. 

Daring  the  summer  and  autumn,  cholera 
infantum  with  children  in  large  towns,  diar- 
rhoea, cholera  morbus,  dysentery,  intermittent 
and  remittent  bilious  fevers  prevail.  The  in- 
termittent assumes  various  forms,  and  has 
acquired  several  names  amongst  the  country 
people,  where  it  prevails  more  generally  than 
in  large  towns.  It  is  called  the  "  chill  and 
fever," — "ague," — "dumb  ague,"  &c.,  ac- 
cording to  its  form  of  attack. 

The  remittent  fever  is  the  most  formidable 
of  our  autumnal  diseases,  especially  when  of 
a  highly  bilious  type.  In  most  seasons,  these 
diseases  are  easily  managed,  and  yield  to  a 


DISEASES.  81 

dose  or  two  of  medicine.  Sore  eyes,  espe- 
cially in  autumn,  is  a  common  complaint  in 
the  frontier  settlements,  and  when  neglected 
or  improperly  managed,  have  terminated  in 
total  blindness. 

The  "milk  sickness,"  as  it  is  called,  occa- 
sionally prevails  in  some  localities,  some  par- 
ticulars of  which  will  be  found  in  another  place. 
There  is  a  disease  that  afflicts  many  frontier 
people,  called  by  some  "sick  stomach,"  by 
others,  "  water  brash,"  from  its  symptoms  of 
sudden  nausea,  with  vomiting,  especially  after 
meals. 

In  1832,  the  cholera  made  its  appearance 
in  the  West.  In  many  places,  its  first  ap- 
proach was  attended  with  great  mortality,  but 
its  second  visit  to  a  place  has  been  in  a  milder 
and  more  manageable  form.  It  has  visited 
various  parts  of  the  West,  on  each  returning 
season  since,  especially  along  the  great  rivers 
and  about  the  steam-boats.*  It  appears  to 
have  changed  somewhat  the  characteristics  of 
our  western  diseases,  and  will  probably  be- 
come a  modified  and  manageable  disease. 
Since  its  visit,  our  fevers  are  more  conges- 
tive, less  bile  is  secreted,  and  the  stomach 
more  affected.  The  subject  will  doubtless  be 
noticed  by  our  physicians,  and  observations 
made,  how  far  this  new  disease  will  become 
assimilated  to  the  ordinary  diseases  of  the 
country. 

*  Not  a  case  of  cholera  has  occurred  this  season, — Aug. 
12,  1836. 


82  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

We  are  satisfied,  after  a  long  course  of 
observations,  much  traveling,  and  conversing 
with  many  hundreds  of  families,  with  the  view 
of  arriving  at  correct  conclusions  on  these 
subjects,  that  there  is  no  such  operation  as  that 
of  emigrants  undergoing  a  seasoning,  or  be- 
coming acclimated,  in  the  States  of  Ohio,  In- 
diana, Illinois,  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Tennes- 
see, Michigan,  or  the  Wisconsin  Territory. 
JVbr  does  it  make  the  least  difference  from  what 
part  of  the  United  States  or  Europe,  they  come, 
nor  whether  they  arrive  here  in  the  spring  or  au- 
tumn. There  is  an  erroneous  notion  prevailing 
in  some  of  the  Atlantic  States,  on  this  sub- 
ject, that  should  be  corrected.  When  sick- 
ness prevails,  there  is  just  as  much,  and  it  is 
equally  severe,  amongst  the  old  settlers,  those 
born  in  the  country,  or  who  migrate  from  the 
Carolinas  or  Georgia,  as  those  who  come  from 
the  Northern  States.  Families  are  just  as 
liable  to  sickness,  and  are  as  often  attacked 
for  the  first  time,  after  residing  several  years 
in  the  country,  as  at  any  other  time.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  families  and  individuals,  who 
remove  from  New  England,  to  the  various 
parts  of  the  Valley,  north  of  the  37th  degree 
of  latitude,  have  no  sickness  the  first  year. 

The  impression  has  formerly  existed  abroad, 
that  Illinois  is  less  healthy  than  other  Western 
States.  This  is  entirely  erroneous.  As  in  all 
countries,  there  are  some  localities,  where  the 
causes  that  produce  sickness  exist  more  than 
in  others.  This  is  not  the  fact  with  Illinois  in 
general. 


DISEASES.  83 

That  this  State  is  as  healthy  as  any  other 
Western  State,  can  be  abundantly  supported 
by  facts.  Let  a  candid  observer  compare  the 
health  of  the  early  settlers  of  New  England, 
with  that  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  West, 
and  he  will  find  the  scale  to  preponderate  in 
favor  of  the  latter.  Unless  there  is  some 
strange  fatality  attending  Illinois,  its  popula- 
tion must  be  more  healthy  than  the  early  set- 
tlers of  a  timbered  region.  But  in  no  period  of 
its  history  have  sickness  and  death  triumphed, 
in  any  respect,  equal  to  what  they  did  two  or 
three  years  since,  in  the  lake  country  of  New 
York. 

The  year  1811,  is  recorded  in  the  memoirs 
of  the  early  settlers,  as  a  season  of  unusual 
sickness,  near  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi 
and  Missouri  rivers.  The  latter  rose  to  an 
unusual  height,  in  June;  the  waters  of  the 
small  creeks  were  backed  up,  and  a  large 
surface  of  luxuriant  vegetation  was  covered 
and  deadened.  This  was  succeeded  by  hot 
and  dry  weather.  Bilious  and  intermittent 
fevers  prevailed  extensively.  The  seasons  of 
1819,  '20,  and  '21,  were  unusually  sickly  in 
Illinois  and  Missouri.  Emigrants,  in  shoals, 
had  spread  over  a  wide  range  of  country, 
within  a  year  or  two  preceding.  Multitudes 
were  placed  under  circumstances  the  most 
unfavorable  to  the  preservation  of  health,  in 
new  and  open  cabins  of  green  timber,  often 
using  the  stagnant  water  of  creeks  <ind  pcn:ls, 
with  a  luxuriant  vegetation  around  them  un- 


84  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

i  \ 

dergoing  decomposition,  and  all  the  other  evils 
attendant  on  the  settlement  of  a  new  and  un- 
broken country.  Under  such  circumstances, 
can  it  be  surprising  that  many  were  sick,  and 
that  many  died?  The  summer  of  1820  was 
the  hottest  and  driest  ever  known  in  this 
country.  For  weeks,  in  succession,  the  ther- 
mometer, in  the  shade,  at  St.  Louis,  was  up 
to  96  degrees  for  hours  in  the  day.  Not  a 
cloud  came  over  the  sun,  to  afford  a  partial 
relief  from  its  burning  influence.  The  fevers 
of  that  season  were  unusually  rapid,  malignant 
a.id  umanageable.  Almost  every  mark  of  the 
yellow  fever,  as  laid  down  in  the  books,  was 
exhibited  in  many  cases,  both  in  town  and 
country.  The  bilious  fever  put  on  its  most 
malignant  type.  Black,  foetid  matter  was  dis- 
charged from  the  stomach  and  by  stools.  The 
writer  and  all  his  family  suffered  severely  that 
season.  He  lived  seventeen  mi4es  from  St. 
Louis,  on  the  road  to  St.  Charles,  in  Missouri, 
on  a  farm;  the  settlement  had  been  called 
healthy.  The  Missouri  bottom  was  one  mile 
distant.  Three  miles  west-south-west,  was  the 
CVeve-coeur  lake,  a  body  of  water  several  miles* 
in  length  and  half  a  mile  in  width,  connected  by 
an  outlet,  with  the  Missouri  river.  The  wa- 
ter of  this  lake  was  entirely  stagnant,  covered 
with  a  thick  scum,  and  sent  forth  a  noisome 
sisrjll:  fish  in  it  died.  My  oldest  son,  a  robust 
youth,  ten  years  of  age,  and  my  brother-in- 
law,  a  hale  and  stout  young  man,  sickened 
and  died  the  first  week  in  October.  I  was 


DISEASES.  85 

attacked  the  fifth  of  July,  and  came  as  near 
dying  as  a  person  could  and  recover.  All  my 
children  were  sick.  While  convalescent,  in 
September,  I  took  a  long  journey  to  Cape 
Girardeau  country,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  south,  and  back  through  the  lead-mine 
country,  to  the  Missouri  river,  sixty  miles 
west  of  St.  Louis,  and  in  all  the  route  found 
that  sickness  had  prevailed  to  the  same  extent. 
At  Vincennes,  and  other  parts  of  Indiana, 
disease  triumphed.  The  country  around  Vin- 
cennes, on  the  east  side  of  the  Wabash,  is  a 
sandy  plain.  A  gentleman  who  escaped  the 
ravages  of  fever  in  that  place,  and  who  was 
much  engaged  in  nursing  the  sick  and  con- 
soling the  dying,  stated  to  me  that  nothing 
was  so  disheartening  as  the  cloudless  sky  and 
burning  sun,  that  continued  unchanged,  for 
weeks  in  succession.  Mortality  prevailed  to 
a  great  extent  along  the  banks  of  the  Wabash. 
Hindostan,  a  town  on  the  east  fork  of  White 
river,  thirty-eight  miles  from  Vincennes,  on 
the  road  to  Louisville,  was  begun  the  pre- 
ceding year.  Seventy  or  eighty  families  had 
crowded  in,  at  the  commencement  of  the  year 
1820.  The  heavy  timber  of  poplar  (white- 
wood),  oak  and  beech,  had  been  cut  down,  the 
brush  burned,  and  the  logs  left  on  the  ground. 
By  June,  the  bark  was  loosened,  an  intolera- 
ble stench  proceeded  from  the  timber;  sick- 
ness followed,  and  about  two  thirds  of  the 
population  died.  And  yet,  to  look  about  the 
place,  there  is  no  local  cause  that  would  in- 


86 


dicate  sickness.  In  the  summer  of  1821 ,  sick- 
ness prevailed  very  extensively,  but  in  a  much 
milder  form:  its  type  was  intermittent,  and 
usually  yielded  to  ordinary  remedies.  During 
that  year,  the  number  of  deaths  in  St.  Louis, 
was  136, — the  population  5000.  At  least  one 
third  of  that  number  were  strangers  and  tran- 
sient persons,  who  either  arrived  sick,  or 
were  taken  sick  within  two  or  three  days  after 
arrival.  St.  Louis  had  then  no  police  regula- 
tions, the  streets  were  filthy  in  the  extreme, 
and  the  population  were  crowded  into  every 
hole  and  corner.  This  was  the  most  sickly 
and  dying  season  St.  Louis  ever  knew,  except 
when  the  cholera  prevailed,  in  October,  1832. 

The  same  years  (1820—21)  were  noted  for 
unusual  sickness  throughout  the  United  States, 
and  indeed  the  whole  world.  The  bilious  fe- 
ver prevailed  in  the  hilly  and  mountainous 
districts  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  and 
even  among  the  Green  mountains  of  Vermont. 

Very  little  general  sickness  (except  cholera, 
in  1832-33)  prevailed  in  1830,  '31,  '32,  or 
'33.  In  1834,  congestive  fever,  and  dysen- 
tery, with  some  of  the  symptoms  of  cholera, 
existed  in  many  places  in  the  West,  though 
not  extensively  fatal.  In  the  month  of  June, 
were  frequent  sudden  showers  in  Illinois  and 
Missouri,  with  intervals  of  extreme  heat;  July 
and  August  very  hot  and  dry.  The  disease 
began  early  in  July,  and  continued  till  Sep- 
tember. 

The  year  1835,  was  the  most  sickly  year, 


DISEASES.  87 

for  common  intermittents,  which  prevailed  more 
amongst  the  old  settlers,  than  the  newly  arrived 
emigrants.  In  Illinois,  and  generally  through- 
out the  West,  below  the  40th  degree  of  lati- 
tude, it  was  sickly,  though  not  fatal.  Early 
in  the  spring,  till  the  month  of  May,  it  was 
unusually  dry,  and  vegetation  was  two  weeks 
later  than  usual.  May,  and  a  part  of  June, 
were  very  wet,  followed  by  a  few  days  of  ex- 
tremely hot  weather.  Vegetation  grew  with  . 
great  luxuriance.  Newly  ploughed  ground 
sent  forth  a  noxious  effluvium,  with  a  most 
offensive  odor,  and  after  a  few  days  would  be 
covered  with  a  greenish  coat,  like  the  scum 
on  stagnant  water.  Town  situations,  even 
along  the  banks  of  rivers,  were  comparatively 
healthy. 

In  case  of  sickness,  physicians  are  to  be 
found  in  almost  every  county,  anci  every 
season  adds  to  their  number.  Charges  are, 
somewhat  higher  than  in  the  Northern  States. 
Many  families  keep  a  few  simple  articles  of 
medicine,  and  administer  for  themselves. 
Calomel  is  a  specific,  and  is  taken  by  multi- 
tudes, without  hesitation  or  fear  of  danger. 
From  fifteen  to  twenty  grains  are  an  ordinary 
dose  for  a  cathartic.  Whenever  nausea  of 
the  stomach,  pains  in  the  limbs,  and  yawning, 
or  a  chill,  indicate  the  approach  of  disease,  a 
dose  of  calomel  is  taken  at  night  in  a  little  apple, 
honey,  or  other  suitable  substance,  and  fol- 
lowed up  in  the  morning  with  a  dose  of  castor 
oil,  or  salts,  to  produce  a  brisk  purge.  Some- 


88  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

times  an  emetic  is  preferred:  either  a  cathar- 
tic or  an  emetic  will  leave  the  system  under 
some  debility.  The  mistake  frequently  made 
is,  in  not  following  up  the  evacuating  medi- 
cine with  tonics.  This  should  be  done,  in- 
variably, unless  the  paroxysm  of  fever  has 
commenced.  A  few  doses  of  sulphate  of 
quinine,  or  Peruvian  bark  in  its  crude  state, 
will  restore  the  system  to  its  natural  tone.  To 
prevent  an  attack  of  fever,  medicine  should 
be  taken  on  the  very  first  symptoms  of  a  dis- 
eased stomach;  it  should  not  be  tampered 
with,  but  taken  in  sufficient  doses  to  relieve 
the  system  from  morbid  effects,  and  then  fol- 
lowed up  by  tonics,  to  restore  its  vigor  and 
prevent  relapse. 

New  comers  will  find  it  advantageous  for 
protecting  themselves  from  the  damp  atmos- 
phere at  night,  to  provide  close  dwellings; 
yet  when  the  air  is  clear,  to  leave  open  doors 
and  windows  at  night  for  free  circulation,  but 
not  to  sleep  directly  in  the  current  of  air; 
and  invariably  to  wear  thin  clothing  in  the 
heat  of  the  day,  and  put  on  thicker  garments 
at  night,  and  in  wet  and  cloudy  weather. 

I  have  observed  that  those  families  are  sel- 
dom sick  who  live  in  comfortable  houses,  with 
tight  floors,  and  well  ventilated  rooms,  and 
who,  upon  change  of  weather,  and  especially 
in  time  of  rains,  make  a  little  fire  in  the  chim- 
ney, although  the  thermometer  might  not  in- 
dicate the  necessity. 

In  fine,  I  am  prepared  to  give  my  opinion, 


DISEASES.  89 

decidedly,  in  favor  of  the  general  health  of 
this  country  and  climate.  I  would  not  cer- 
tainly be  answerable  for  all  the  bad  locations, 
the  imprudences  and  whims  of  all  classes  of 
emigrants,  which  may  operate  unfavorably  to 
health.  I  only  speak  for  myself  and  family. 
I  decidedly  prefer  this  climate,  with  all  its 
miasm,  to  New  England,  with  its  north-east 
winds,  and  damp,  'raw,'  and  pulmonary  at- 
mosphere. We  very  seldom  have  fogs  in. Il- 
linois and  Missouri.  My  memoranda,,  kept 
with  considerable  accuracy,  for  twelve^  years, 
give  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  foggy  morn- 
ings in  a  year. 

The  following  comparisons  between  St. 
Louis  and  several  eastern  cities,  wjll  afford 
some  evidence  of  the  opinions  expressed 
above.  I  have  remarked,  already,  that  1821 
was  more  sickly  in  St.  Louis  than  any  pre- 
ceding year,  and  deaths  were  more  numerous 
in  proportion  to  the  population.  Some  cases 
of  fever 'were  more  malignant  in  1820,  in  that 
place,  but  deaths  were  more  frequent  the  fol- 
lowing season.  I  solemnized  the  marriage  of 
a  young  lady  of  my  acquaintance,  who  was 
under  the  age  of  fourteen  years.  In  eight 
days  she  was  a  widow.  At  the  funeral  of  a 
gentleman,  the  same  season,  who  left  a  widow 
under  twenty  years,  there  were  present  thir- 
teen widows,  all  under  twenty-four  years  of 
age,  and  all  had  lost  their  companions  that 
season.  Young  men  were  victims  more  than 
any  other  age  or  condition.  And  yet  I  am 
5 


90 


prepared  to  show,  that  St.  Louis,  that  sum- 
mer, was  not  more  sickly  than  several  eastern 
cities  were  in  1820  and  1823. 

The  population  of  St.  Louis,  in  1821 ,  varied 
but  little  from  5000:  the  number  of  deaths 
during  that  year  was  136.  This  account  was 
taken  by  the  Rev.  Salmon  Giddings,  who  was 
particular  in  collecting  the  facts.  The  pro- 
portion of  the  deaths  to  the  population,  was 
one  to  thirty-five. 

In  1820,  Boston  contained  a  population  of 
43,893;  number  of  deaths  1103;  proportion 
of  one  to  thirty-nine  and  three  fourths. 

New  York.  Population  123,000;  deaths 
3515;  proportion  of  one  to  a  fraction  less  than 
thirty-five. 

Philadelphia.  Population  108,000;  deaths 
3374;  proportion  of  one  to  thirty-two. 

Baltimore.  Population  62,000;  deaths  1625; 
proportion  of  one  to  thirty-eight. 

The  aggregate  population  of  these  four 
cities,  in  1820,  was  336,893;  the  aggregate 
number  of  deaths,  9617;  proportion  of  one  to 
thirty-five,  the  same  as  that  of  St.  Louis. 

In  1823,  Boston  contained  a  population  es- 
timated at  45,000;  number  of  deaths,  by  of- 
ficial returns,  1154;  proportion  of  one  to  thir- 
ty-nine. 

New  York.  Population  about  130,000; 
deaths  3444;  proportion  of  one  to  thirty-seven 
and  two  thirds. 

Philadelphia.      Population  about   120,000; 


DISEASES.  91 

deaths  4600;  proportion  of  one  to  twenty-six. 
[This  was  an  uncommonly  sickly  season  in 
Philadelphia.] 

Baltimore.  Population  estimated  at  65,000 ; 
deaths  2108;  proportion  of  one  to.  thirty  and 
two  thirds. 

I  have  thus  selected  the  mortality  of  St. 
Louis  during  the  most  sickly  season  since  my 
residence  in  this  country,  and  compared  it 
with  the  bills  of  mortality  of  four  eastern  cities 
for  two  years  (those  of  1820  and  1823),  and 
the  result  is  favorable  to  the  health  of  St. 
Louis,  and,  by  consequence,  to  the  adjoining 
States.  For  ten  years  past,  there  has  been 
no  general  sickness  in  St.  Louis,  during  the 
summer  and  autumnal  months,  excepting  the 
cholera,  in  1832. 

Some  parts  of  Indiana  and  Ohio  are  unques- 
tionably more  subject  to  bilious  attacks  than 
Illinois.  The  reason  is  obvious.  Much  of 
that  region  is  heavily  timbered;  and,  upon 
cutting  it  away  in  spots,  and  letting  in  the 
rays  of  the  sun  upon  vegetable  matter  under- 
going decomposition,  miasmata  are  generated. 
These  regions  will  become  comparatively 
healthy,  when  put  under  general  cultivation. 

The  story  is  told,  that  the  late  emperor  of 
France  lay  encamped  with  one  of  his  armies 
near  a  place  reputed  unhealthy,  when  one  of 
his  officers  requested  a  furlough.  The  reason 
being  asked,  and  given, — that  the  place  was 
unhealthy,  and  the  applicant  feared  to  die  an 
inglorious  death,  from  fever: — Napoleon  re- 


92  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

plied,  in  his  accustomed  laconic  style,  "  Go  to 
your  post;  men  die  every  where." 

If  a  family  emigrate  to  a  new  and  distant 
country,  and  any  of  the  number  sicken  and 
die,  we  are  apt  to  indulge  in  unavailing  regret 
at  the  removal;  whereas,  had  the  same  afflic- 
tive event  happened  before  removal,  it  would 
have  been  regarded  in  quite  a  different  light. 
Let,  then,  none  come  to  the  West,  who  do  not 
expect  to  be  sick  and  to  die,  whenever  divine 
Providence  shall  see  fit  so  to  order  events. 

The  milk  sickness  is  a  disease  of  a  singular 
character,  which  prevails  in  certain  places.  It 
first  affects  animals,  especially  cows,  and  from 
them  is  communicated  to  the  human  system  by 
eating  the  milk,  or  flesh.  The  symptoms  of 
the  disease  indicate  poison;  and  the  patient 
is  affected  nearly  in  the  same  way,  as  when 
poisonous  ingredients  have  been  received  into 
the  system.  Cattle,  when  attacked  by  it,  usu- 
ally die.  In  many  instances  it  proves  mortal 
in  the  human  system;  in  others,  it  yields  to  the 
skill  of  the  physician.  Much  speculation  has 
been  had  upon  its  cause,  which  is  still  un- 
known. The  prevailing  idea  is,  that  it  is 
caused  by  some  poisonous  substance  eaten  by 
the  cattle,  but  whether  vegetable  or  mineral, 
remainsun  determined.  Physicians  and  others 
have  attempted  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  this 
disease,  but  hitherto  without  success. 

It  infests  only  particular  spots,  or  small  dis- 
tricts, and  these  are  soon  found  out.  There 
are  places  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  the  southern 


DISEASES.  93 

States,  where  it  exists.  Its  effects  are  more 
frequent  in  autumn  than  any  other  season; 
and  to  guard  against  it,  the  people  eithenj^eep 
their  cows  in  a  pasture,  or  refuse  to  use  their 
milk.  Some  have  supposed  this  disease  to  be 
produced  by  the  cattle  feeding  on  the  cicuta 
virosa,  or  water  hemlock;  as  a  similar  disease 
once  infested  the  cattle  in  the  north  of  Europe, 
the  cause  of  which  was  traced  out  by  the  great 
naturalist  Linnaeus;  but  it  is  not  known  that 
this  species  of  plant  exists  amongst  the  botani- 
cal productions  of  Missouri  and  Illinois. 

Anxious  to  furnish  all  the  information,  on 
this  very  important  subject,  to  persons  de- 
sirous of  emigrating  to  the  West,  I  will  pro- 
long this  chapter  by  inserting  the  following 

"•Advice  to  Emigrants,  recent  Settlers,  and  to 
those  visiting  the  southern  Country.  , 

"The  outlines  which  have  already  been 
given,  will  afford  some  information  to  emi- 
grants from  other  sections  of  the  Union,  or 
from  Europe.  We  will  now  offer  a  few  cau- 
tionary remarks,  particularly  intended  for 
such  as  are  about  to  settle,  or  have  recently 
settled  in  this  section  of  the  United  States. 

"  Of  new  comers,  there  are  two  tolerably 
distinct  classes:  the  one  comprising  farmers, 
mechanics,  and  indeed  all  those  who  calculate 
on  obtaining  a  subsistence  by  manual  indus- 
try; the  other  is  composed  of  professional 
men,  tradesmen,  and  adventurers  of  every 
description.  Towards  the  first  class  our 


94 


attention  is  now  directed,  premising  that 
throughout  a  great  portion  of  the  western 
country,  except  in  large  towns,  nearly  every 
mechanic  is  almost  necessarily  a  farmer;  the 
population  being  in  but  few  places  sufficiently 
dense  to  support  that  designation  of  mechani- 
cal employments  which  is  common  in  the  East- 
ern and  Middle  States. 

.  "  For  the  industrious  and  temperate  of  this 
class,  our  country  holds  forth  inducements, 
which  are  not  generally  known  or  understood. 

"The  language  of  indiscriminate  panegyric, 
which  has  been  bestowed  on  its  climate  and 
soil,  has  conveyed  little  information,  and  is 
the  source  of  many  fears  and  suspicions  in  the 
minds  of  people  at  a  distance.  Other  accounts 
have  described  the  western  country  as  uni- 
formly sickly;  but  the  habit  of  exaggeration 
in  its  favor,  has  been  most  prevalent;  neither 
need  we  wonder,  when  much  of  the  informa- 
tion communicated,  has  been  afforded  by  in- 
terested landholders,  or  speculators,  and  by 
travelers,  whose  views  have  been  superficial, 
and  whose  journeys  have  been  performed  gen- 
erally, either  on  the  rivers,  or  by  post  roads. 

'•  The  first  inquiry  of  a  substantial  farmer, 
from  one  of  the  old  settled  States  is,  mostly, 
for  good  land,  in  the  vicinity  of  a  market ;  and, 
afterwards,  whether  the  situation  be  healthy. 
It  is  true  that  there  are  many  places  in  the 
western  country,  affording  the  qualities  ex- 
pressed in  this  description,  but  they  are  per- 
haps all  occupied;  and  it  would  be,  in  several 


DISEASES.  95 

respects,  more  advisable  for  a  farmer,  pos- 
sessing even  a  considerable  sum  of  money  in 
hand,  to  inquire  first  for  a  healthy  situation, 
and  then  good  land. 

"The  spirit  of  improvement  throughout  the 
United  States,  especially  evinced  in  canalling 
and  rail-roads,  will,  it  is  hoped,  in  a  few  years, 
open  modes  of  communication,  which,  as  yet, 
are  wanting  with  the  markets. 

"  The  same  remarks  will  apply  to  the  poorer 
class  of  emigrants.  If  they  value  their  own 
health,  and  that  of  their  families,  the  main  ob- 
ject of  their  attention  will  be  to  secure,  if  pos- 
sible, a  situation  remote  from  the  fogs  that 
hover  over  the  channels  of  large  rivers,  which 
become  partly  dry  in  summer,  and  from  the 
neighborhood  of  swamps,  marshes,  ponds  and 
small  lakes. 

"Every  person,  on  coming  from  beyond 
the  mountains,  and  especially  from  the  Eastern 
States,  or  Europe,  will  have  to  undergo  some 
degree  of  change  in  his  constitution,  before 
it  becomes  naturalized  to  the  climate;  and 
all  who  move  from  a  cold  to  a  considerably 
warmer  part  of  the  western  country  will  expe- 
rience the  same  alteration;  it  will,  therefore, 
be  wisdom  for  the  individual  brought  up  in  a 
more  rigorous  climate,  that  he  seek  a  situa- 
tion where  the  circulation  of  air  is  unimpeded 
and  free,  and  that  he  avoid  those  flat  and 
marshy  districts,  which  have  been  already  de- 
scribed. 

"  Those    who  settle  in  new  countries   are 


96 


almost  universally  exposed  to  inconveniences 
which  have  an  unfavorable  influence  on  health. 
They  are  seldom  able,  for  a  length  of  time,  to 
erect  comfortable  places  of  residence;  and  in- 
deed, many  postpone  this  important  object  of 
attention,  even  after  their  circumstances  will 
permit  them  to  build  comfortable  dwelling- 
bouses. 

''Wool  is  mostly  a  scarce  article  in  new 
settlements,  so  that  cotton  and  linen  garments 
are  too  frequently  worn  in  winter.  There  is 
another  circumstance,  which  no  doubt  has 
an  unfavorable  influence  on  health,  especially 
among  the  poorer  class:  it  is  the  want,  during 
the  summer  season  particularly,  of  substantial 
food.  This  is  sometimes  owing  to  indolence, 
or  improvidence;  but  perhaps  oftener  to  the 
circumstances  in  which  a  few  families  are 
placed,  at  a  distance  from  any  established  or 
opulent  settlement. 

"Erroneous  views  are  too  generally  en- 
tertained in  relation  to  hardening  the  human 
system;  and  the  analogies  drawn  from  savage 
life,  are  altogether  inconclusive.  The  man- 
ners of  the  North  American  Indians  are  es- 
sentially different  from  those  of  the  whites. 
It  is  true,  there  is  a  portion  of  the  latter, 
especially  in  Illinois  and  Missouri,  who  from 
infancy  are  educated  almost  in  the  habits  of 
the  aborigines. 

"We  have  frequently  heard  the  example 
of  savages  referred  to,  as  an  argument  in  fa- 
vor of  attempting  to  strengthen  the  constitu- 


DISEASES.  97 

tion  by  exposure.*  There  is  plausibility  in 
this;  but  might  not  the  example  of  the  negroes 
in  the  lower  parts  of  South  Carolina  and 

*  Uniform  exposure  to  the  weather  is  favorable  to  health. 
I  can  affirm  this  from  long  experience  and  observation.  Our 
hunters  and  surveyors,  who  uniformly  spend  their  time  for 
weeks  in  the  woods  and  prairies,  who  wade  in  the  water, 
swim  creeks,  are  drenched  in  the  rains  and  dews,  and  sleep 
in  the  open  air  or  a  camp  at  night,  very  rarely  are  attacked 
with  fevers.  I  have  known  repeated  instances  of  young 
men,  brought  up  delicately  in  the  eastern  cities,  accustomed, 
as  clerks,  to  a  sedentary  life,  with  feeble  constitutions, — I 
have  known  such,  repeatedly,  to  enter  upon  the  business  of 
surveying  the  public  lands,  or  in  the  hunting  and  trapping 
business,  be  absent  for  months,  and  return  with  robust  health. 
It  is  a  common  thing  for  a  frontier  man,  whose  health  is  on 
the  decline,  and  especially  when  indications  of  pulmonary 
affection  appear,  to  engage  in  a  hunting  expedition  to  reno- 
vate his  health.  I  state  these  facts,  and  leave  it  to  the 
medical  faculty  to  explain  the  why  and  wherefore.  One  cir- 
cumstance may  deserve  attention.  All. these  men,  as  do 
the  Indians,  sleep  with  their  feet  towards  the  fire  at  nighL 
And  it  is  a  common  notion  with  this  class,  that  if  the  feet 
are  kept  hot  through  the  night,  however  cold  "tVe»atmos- 
phere,  or  however  much  exposed  the  rest  of  the  body,  no 
evil  consequences  will  ensue.  I  have  passed  many  a  night 
in  this  position,  after  fatiguing  rides  of  thirty  or  forty  miles 
in  the  day  on  our  extreme  frontiers,  and  through  rains,  and 
never  experienced  any  inconvenience  to  health,  if  I  could 
get  a  pallet  on  the  cabin  floor,  and  my  feet  to  the  fire. 

Those  who  are  exposed  to  these  hardships  but  occasion- 
ally, when  compelled  by  necessity,  and  who  endeavor  to 
protect  themselves  at  all  other  times,  usually  suffer  after 
such  exposure. 

I  have  observed  that  children,  when  left  to  run  in  the  open 
air  and  weather,  who  go  barefoot,  and  oftentimes  with  a 
single  light  garment  around  them,  who  sleep  on  the  floor 
at  night,  are  more  healthy  than  those  who  are  protected. 


98  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Georgia,  be  also  quoted  as  evidencing  the 
propriety  of  living  on  corn-meal  and  sweec 
potatoes,  and  working  every  day  in  the  water 
of  a  rice-field,  during  the  sickly  season  ? 
They  are,  generally,  more  healthy  than  the 
whites  who  own  them,  and  who  reside  on  the 
plantations  in  the  summer.  The  civilized  man 
may  turn  to  savage  life  perhaps  with  safety,  as 
regards  health;  but  then  he  must  plunge  with 
the  Indian  into  the  depths  of  the  forest,  and 
observe  consistency  in  all  his  habits.  These 
pages  are  not  written,  however,  for  such  as 
are  disposed  to  consider  themselves  beyond 
the  pale  of  civilized  society;  but  for  the  re*- 
fleeting  part  of  the  community,  who  can  es- 
timate the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  a 
prudent  care  of  health. 

"Much  disease,  especially  in  the  more  re- 
cently settled  «parts  of  this  country,  is  conse- 
quent to  neglecting  simple  and  comfortable 
precautionary  means:  sometimes,  this  neglect 
is  owing  to  misdirected  industry,  and  at  others 
to  laziness,  or  evil  habits. 

"To  have  a  dry  house,  if  it  be  a  log  one, 
with  the  openings  between  the  logs  well  filled 
up,  so  that  it  may  be  kept  warm  in  winter;  to 
fill  up  all  the  holes  in  its  vicinity  which  may 
contain  stagnant  water;  to  have  a  good  clean 
spring  or  well,  sufficient  clothing,  and  a  rea- 
sonable supply  of  provisions,  should  be  the 
first  object  of  a  settler's  attention.  But  fre- 
quently a  little,  wet,  smoky  cabin  or  hovel  is 
erected,  with  the  floor  scarcely  separated 


DISEASES.  99 

from  the  ground,  and  admitting  the  damp  and 
unwholesome  air:  all  hands,  that  can  work, 
are  impelled,  by  the  father's  example,  to  labor 
beyond  their  strength,  and  more  land  is  clear- 
ed and  planted  with  corn  than  is  well  tended; 
for  over-exertion,  change  in  the  manner  of 
living,  and  the  influence  of  other  debilitating 
causes,  which  have  been  mentioned,  bring 
sickness  on  at  least  a  part  of  the  family,  be- 
fore the  summer  is  half  over. 

"It  is  unnecessary  for  even  the  poorest 
emigrant  to  encounter  these  causes  of  dis- 
tress, unless  seduced  by  the  misrepresenta- 
tions of  some  interested  landholder,  or  by  the 
fantasies  of  his  own  brain,  to  an  unhealthy 
and  desolate  situation,  where  he  can  neither 
help  himself,  nor  be  assisted  by  others.  %. 

' '  Many  persons,  on  moving  into  the  back 
icoods,  who  have  been  accustomed  to  the  de- 
cencies of  life,  think  it  little  matter  how  they 
live,  because  no  one  sees  them.  Thus  we  have 
known  a  family  of  some  opulence  to  reside  for 
years  in  a  cabin  unfit  for  the  abode  of  any 
human  being,  because  they  could  not  find  time 
to  build  a  house!  and  whenever  it  rained  hard, 
the  females  were  necessarily  engaged  in  roll- 
ing the  beds  from  one  corner  of  the  room  to 
another,  in  order  to  save  them  from  the  water 
that  poured  in  through  the  roof.  This  cabin 
was  intended  at  first  as  only  a  very  temporary 
residence,  and  was  erected  on  the  edge  of  a 
swamp,  for  the  convenience  of  being  near  a 
spring.  How  unreasonable  must  such  people 
be,  if  they  expect  health! 


100 


"  Clothing  for  winter,  should  be  prepared 
in  summer.  It  is  a  common,  but  very  incor- 
rect practice  among  many  farmers,  both  west 
and  east  of  the  Alleghany  mountains,  to  post- 
pone wearing  winter  clothing  until  the  weather 
has  become  extremely  cold:  this  is  a  fruitful 
source  of  pulmonary  diseases,  of  rheumatisms 
and  of  fevers. 

"  With  regard  to  providing  a  sufficiency  of 
nourishing  food,  no  specific  directions  can  be 
given,  further  than  to  recommend, — what  is 
much  neglected, — particular  attention  to  a 
good  garden  spot;  and  to  remark,  that  those 
who  devote  undivided  attention  to  cultivating 
the  soil,  receive  more  uniform  supplies  of 
suitable  nourishment  than  the  more  indolent, 
who  spend  a  considerable  portion  of  their  time 
in  hunting. 

"  New  settlers  are  not  unfrequently  troubled 
with  diseases  of  the  skin,  which  are  often  sup- 
posed to  be  the  itch:  for  these  eruptions  they 
generally  use  repellent  external  applications: 
this  plan  of  treatment  is  prejudicial. 

"  The  most  proper  time  for  the  removal  of 
families  to  this  country,  from  the  Atlantic 
States,  is  early  in  the  spring,  while  the  rivers 
are  full;  or,  if  the  journey  be  made  by  land,  as 
soon  as  the  roads  are  sufficiently  settled,  and 
the  waters  abated. 

"Persons  unaccustomed  to  the  climate  of 
the  Lower  Mississippi  country,  are  necessarily 
exposed,  whilst  there  in  the  summer  season, 
to  many  causes  of  disease.  It  will  be  advisa- 


DISEASES.  101 

ble  for  such  to  have  a  prudent  care  of  their 
health,  and  yet  a  care  distinct  from  that  finical 
timidity,  which  renders  them  liable  to  early 
attacks  of  sickness. 

"There  is  one  important  consideration, 
which  perhaps  has  been  somewhat  overlook- 
ed by  medical  men,  who  have  written  on  this 
subject.  Natives  of  colder  and  healthier  re- 
gions, when  exposed  in  southern  and  sickly 
climates,  experience,  if  they  remain  any 
length  of  time  without  evident  and  violent 
disease,  an  alteration  in  the  condition  of  the 
liver,  and  of  the  secreted  bile  itself;  when  It 
passes  through  the  bowels,  its  color  being 
much  darker  than  usual.  Sometimes,  indeed, 
it  appears  to  be  'locked  up  in  the  liver,'  the 
stools  having  an  ashen  appearance.  This 
state  of  the  biliary  secretion  is  frequently  ac- 
companied, although  the  patient  is  otherwise 
apparently  in  tolerable  health,  by  a  pain  over 
the  eye-balls,  particularly  when  the  eyes  are 
rolled  upward. 

"The  proper  mode  of  treatment  for  such 
symptoms  is,  to  take,  without  delay,  not  less 
than  twenty  grains  of  calomel,  and,  in  eight 
hours,  a  wine-glass  full  of  castor  oil.  The 
tone  of  the  stomach  should  not  be  suffered  to 
sink  too  much  after  the  operation  of  the  medi- 
cine, which,  if  necessary,  may  be  repeated  in 
twenty-four  hours.  Sulphate  of  quinine,  or 
other  tonics,  with  nutritive  food,  which  is  easy 
of  digestion,  should  also  be  taken  in  moderate 
portions  at  a  time. 


102  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

"Where  diseases  are  rapid  in  their  pro- 
gress, and  dangerous,  no  time  is  to  be  lost. 
The  practice  of  taking  salts  and  other  aperi- 
ents, when  in  exposed  situations,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  disease,  is  injurious. 
It  is  sufficient,  that  the  bowels  be  kept  in  a 
natural  and  healthy  state;  for  all  cathartics, 
even  the  mildest,  have  a  tendency  to  nauseate 
the  stomach,  create  debility,  and  weaken  the 
digestive  faculty.  A  reduction  of  tone  in  the 
system,  which  is  always  advantageous,  will 
be  more  safely  effected  by  using  somewhat 
less  than  usual  of  animal  food,  and  of  spiritu- 
ous, strong,  vinous  or  fermented  liquors.  The 
robust  will  derive  benefit  from  losing  a  little 
blood. 

"It  ought  to  be  well  understood,  that  as 
we  approximate  tropical  climates,  the  doses 
of  medicine,  when  taken,  should  be  increased 
in  quantity,  and  repeated  with  less  delay  than 
is  admissible  in  colder  countries.  Exposure 
to  the  night  air  is  certainly  prejudicial;  so  also 
is  the  intense  heat  of  the  sun,  in  the  middle 
of  the  day.  Violent  exercise  should  also  be 
avoided.  Bathing,  daily,  in  water  of  a  com- 
fortable temperature,  is  a  very  commendable 
practice;  and  cotton,  worn  next  the  skin,  is 
preferable  to  linen. 

"It  is  impossible  to  prevent  the  influence 
of  an  atmosphere  pregnant  with  the  causes  of 
disease;  but  the  operation  of  those  causes  may 
generally  be  counteracted,  by  attention  to  the 
rules  laid  down;  and  it  is  no  small  consolation 


DISEASES.  103 

to  be  aware  that,  on  recovery  from  the  first 
attack7  the  system  is  better  adapted  to  meet 
and  sustain  a  second  of  a  similar  nature.  The 
reader  will  undjeffsfand  that  we  do  not  allude 
to  relapses,  occurring  while  the  system  is  en- 
feebled by  the  consequences  of  disease." 

To  the  foregoing  remarks,  I  add  the  follow- 
ing, from  an  address  of  Judge  Hall,  Decem- 
ber 10,  1827: 

"  The  climate,  particularly  in  reference  to 
its  influence  on  the  human  system,  presents 
another  subject  of  investigation.  The  western 
country  has  been  considered  unhealthy,  and 
there  have  been  writers,  whose  disturbed  im- 
aginations have  misled  them  into  a  belief  that 
the  whole  land  was  continually  exposed  to  the 
most  awful  visitations  of  Providence,  among 
which  have  been  numbered  the  hurricane,  the 
pestilence,  and  the  earthquake.  If  we  have 
been  content  to  smile  at  such  exaggeration, 
while  few  had  leisure  to  attempt  a  serious  re- 
futation, and  while  the  facts  upon  which  any 
deliberate  opinion  must  have  been  based,  had 
not  been  sufficiently  tested  by  experience,  the 
time  has  now  arrived  when  it  is  no  longer  ex- 
cusable to  submit  in  silence  to  the  reproaches 
of  ignorance  or  malice.  It  is  proper,  how- 
ever, to  remark,  as  well  in  extenuation  of 
those  who  have  assailed  our  country,  as  in  the 
support  of  the  confidential  denial,  which  I  feel 
authorized  to  make  to  their  assertions,  that  a 
vast  improvement  in  the  article  of  health  has 
taken  place  within  a  few  years.  Diseases 


104 

are  now  mild  which  were  once  malignant,  and 
their  occurrence  is  annually  becoming  less 
frequent.  This  happy  change  affords  strong 
authority  for  the  belief,  that,  although  the  mal- 
adies which  have  heretofore  afflicted  us  were 
partly  imputable  to  the  climate,  other  and 
more  powerful  causes  of  disease  must  have 
existed,  which  have  vanished.  We,  who 
came  to  the  frontier  while  the  axe  was  still 
busy  in  the  forest,  and  when  thousands  of  the 
acres  which  now  yield  abundance  to  the  far- 
mer, were  unreclaimed  and  tenantless,  have 
seen  the  existence  of  our  fellow-citizens  as- 
sailed by  other  than  the  ordinary  ministers  of 
death.  Toil,  privation  and  exposure,  have 
hurried  many  to  the  grave;  imprudence  and 
carelessness  of  life,  have  sent  crowds  of  vic- 
tims prematurely  to  the  tomb.  It  is  not  to  be 
denied  that  the  margins  of  our  great  streams 
in  general,  and  many  spots  in  the  vicinity  of 
extensive  marshes,  are  subject  to  bilious  dis- 
eases; but  it  may  be  as  confidently  asserted, 
that  the  interior  country  is  healthy.  Yet  the 
first  settlers  invariably  selected  the  rich  al- 
luvion lands  upon  the  navigable  rivers,  in 
preference  to  the  scarcely  less  fertile  soil  of 
the  prairies,  lying  in  situations  less  accessible 
and  more  remote  from  market.  They  came 
to  a  wilderness  in  which  houses  were  not  pre- 
pared for  their  reception,  nor  food,  other  than 
that  supplied  by  nature,  provided  for  their 
sustenance.  They  often  encamped  on  the 
margin  of  the  river,  exposed  to  its  chilly  atmos- 


DISEASES.  105 

phere,  without  a  tent  to  shelter,  with  scarcely 
a  blanket  to  protect  them.  Their  first  habita- 
tions were  rude  cabins,  affording  scarcely  a 
shelter  from  the  rain,  and  too  frail  to  afford 
protection  from  the  burning  heat  of  the  noon- 
day sun,  or  the  chilling  effects  of  the  midnight 
blast.  As  their  families  increased,  another 
and  another  cabin  was  added,  as  crazy  and  as 
cheerless  as  the  first,  until  admonished  of  the 
increase  of  their  own  substance,  the  influx  of 
wealthier  neighbors,  and  the  general  improve- 
ment of  the  country  around  them,  they  were 
allured  by  pride  to  do  that  to  which  they  never 
would  nave  been  impelled  by  suffering.  The 
gratuitous  exposure  to  the  climate,  which  the 
backwoodsman  seems  rather  to  court  than 
avoid,  is  a  subject  of  common  remark.  No 
extremity  of  weather  confines  him  to  the  shel- 
ter of  his  own  roof.  Whether  the  object  be 
business  or  pleasure,  it  is  pursued  with  the 
same  composure,  amid  the  shadows  of  the 
night,  or  the  howling  of  the  tempest,  as  in  the 
most  genial  season.  Nor  is  this  trait  of  char- 
acter confined  to  woodsmen  or  to  farmers: 
examples  of  hardihood  are  contagious,  and  in 
this  country  all  ranks  of  people  neglect  or 
despise  the  ordinary  precautions  with  respect 
to  health.  Judges  and  lawyers,  merchants, 
physicians  arid  ministers  of  the  gospel,  set  the 
seasons  at  defiance,  in  the  pursuit  of  their  re- 
spective callings.  They  prosecute  their  jour- 
neys, regardless  of  weather;  and  learn  at  last 
to  feel  little  inconvenience  from  the  exposure, 


106 


which  is  silently  undermining  their  constitu- 
tions. Is  it  extraordinary,  that  people  thus 
exposed  should  be  attacked  by  violent  mala- 
dies? Would  it  not  be  more  wonderful  that 
such  a  careless  prodigality  of  life  could  pass 
with  impunity?  These  remarks  might  be  ex- 
tended; the  food  of  the  first  settler,  consisting 
chiefly  of  fresh  meat,  without  vegetables,  and 
often  without  salt;  the  common  use  of  ardent 
spirits,  the  want  of  medical  aid,  by  which  dis- 
eases, at  first  simple,  being  neglected,  become 
dangerous;  and  other  evils  peculiar  to  a  new 
country,  might  be  noticed,  as  fruitful  sources 
of  disease;  but  I  have  already  dwelt  suffi- 
ciently on  this  subject.  That  this  country  is 
decidedly  healthy,  I  feel  no  hesitation  in 
declaring;  but  neither  argument  nor  naked 
assertions  will  convince  the  world.  Let  us 
collect  such  facts  as  amount  to  evidence,  and 
establish  the  truth,  by  undeniable  demonstra- 
tion." 


CHAPTER    IV. 


CHARACTER,    MANNERS,    AND    PURSUITS    OF    THE 
PEOPLE. 

Cotton  and  Sugar  Planters — Farmers — Population  of  the 
large  Towns  and  Cities — Frontier  Class — Hunters  and 
Trappers — B  oatmen. 

THERE  is  great  diversity  in  the  character 
and  habits  of  the  population  of  the  Valley  of 
the  Mississippi. 

Those  who  have  emigrated  from  the  Atlantic 
States,  as  have  a  very  large  proportion  of  those 
persons  who  were  not  born  in  the  Valley,  of 
course  do  not  differ  essentially  from  the  re- 
maining population  of  those  States.  Some  slight 
shades  of  difference  are  perceptible  in  such 
persons  as  have  lived  long  enough  in  the  coun- 
try to  become  assimilated  to  the  habits,  and 
partake  of  the  feelings,  of  western  people. 

Emigrants  from  Europe  have  brought  the 
peculiarities  of  the  nations  and  countries  from 
whence  they  have  originated,  but  are  fast 
losing  their  national  manners  and  feelings, 
and,  to  use  a  provincial  term,  will  soon 
become  "westernized." 


108 


The  march  of  emigration  from  the  Atlantic 
border  has  been  nearly  in  a  line  due  west. 
Tennessee  was  settled  by  Carolinians,  and 
Kentucky  by  Virginians.  Ohio  received  the 
basis  of  its  population  from  the  States  in  the 
same  parallel,  and  hence  partakes  of  all  the 
varieties  from  Maryland  to  New  England. 
Michigan  is  substantially  a  child  of  New  York. 
The  planters  of  the  south  have  gone  to  Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana,  and  the  southern  part  of  Ar- 
kansas. Kentucky  and  Tennessee  have  spread 
their  sons  and  daughters  over  Indiana,  Illinois 
and  Missouri;  but  the  two  former  States  are 
now  receiving  great  numbers  of  emigrants 
from  all  the  northern  States  including  Ohio, 
and  multitudes  from  the  south,  who  desire  to 
remove  beyond  the  boundaries  and  influence 
of  a  slave  population. 

Slavery  in  the  West  keeps  nearly  in  the 
same  parallels  as  it  holds  in  the  East,  and 
is  receding  south,  as  it  does  ;on  the  Atlantic 
coast.  Many  descendants  of  the  Scotch,  Irish 
and  Germans,  have  come  into  the  frontier 
States  from  Western  Pennsylvania. 

We  have  European  emigrants  from  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland.  Those  of  the  latter  are 
more  generally  found  about  our  large  towns 
and  cities,  and  along  the  lines  of  canalling. 

The  French  were  the  explorers  and  early 
settlers  of  the  Valley  immediately  bordering 
on  the  Mississippi,  150  years  since.  They 
formed  the  basis  of  population  of  Louisiana  a 
few  years  since,  but  are  relatively  diminishing 


CHARACTER,   PURSUITS,   ETC.  109 

before  the  emigration  from  other  States  of  the 
Union.  Their  descendants  show  many  of  the 
peculiar  and  distinctive  traits  of  that  people 
in  all  countries.  They  possess  mild  vivacity, 
and  gayety,  and  are  distinguished  for  their 
quiet,  inoffensive,  domestic,  frugal,  and  unen- 
terprising spirit  and  manners.  The  poorer 
class  of  French  are  rather  peculiar  and 
unique.  Their  ancestors  were  isolated  from 
the  rest  of  the  world,  had  no  object  of  excite- 
ment or  ambition,  cared  little  for  wealth,  or 
the  accumulation  of  property,  and  were  ac- 
customed to  hunt,  make  voyages  in  their 
canoes,  smoke,  and  traffic  with  the  Indians. 
But  few  of  them  knew  how  to  read  and  write. 
Accustomed  from  infancy  to  the  life  of  hunts- 
men, trappers  and  boatmen,  they  make  but 
indifferent  farmers.  They  are  contented  to 
live  in  the  same  rude,  but  neatly  whitewashed 
cabin, cultivate  the  same  corn-fields  in  the  same 
mode,  and  drive  the  same  rudely  constructed 
horse-cart  their  fathers  did.  In  the  neatness 
of  their  gardens,  which  are  usually  cultivated 
by  the  females,  they  excel  the  Americans. 
They  are  the  courturs  du  bois  of  the  West. 

The  European  Germans  are  now  coming 
into  the  Valley  by  thousands,  and,  for  a  time, 
will  retain  their  manners  and  language. 

Cotton  and  Sugar  Planters.  These  people, 
found  chiefly  in  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and 
the  southern  part  of  Arkansas,  have  a  great 
degree  of  similarity.  They  are  noted  for 
their  high-mindedness,  generosity,  liberality, 


110 

hospitality,  sociability,  quick  sense  of  honor, 
resentment  of  injuries,  indolence,  and,  in  too 
many  cases,  dissipation.  They  are  much  ad- 
dicted to  the  sports  of  the  turf  and  the  vices 
of  the  gaming  table.  Still  there  are  many 
planters  of  strictly  moral,  and  even  religious 
habits.  They  are  excessively  jealous  of  their 
political  rights,  yet  frank  and  open-hearted  in 
their  dispositions,  and  carry  the  duties  of 
hospitality  to  a  great  extent.  Having  over- 
seers on  most  of  their  plantations,  the  labor 
being  performed  by  the  slaves,  they  have 
much  leisure,  and  are  averse  to  much  person- 
al attention  to  business.  They  dislike  care, 
profound  thinking  and  deep  impressions.  The 
young  men  are  volatile,  gay,  dashing  and 
reckless  spirits,  fond  of  excitement  and  high 
life.  There  is  a  fatal  propensity  amongst  the 
southern  planters  to  decide  quarrels,  and  even 
trivial  disputes,  by  duels.  But  there  are  also 
many  amiable  and  noble  traits  of  character 
amongst  this  class;  and  if  the  principles  of  the 
Bible  and  religion  could  be  brought  to  exert  a 
controlling  influence,  there  would  be  a  noble 
spirited  race  of  peoplein  the  south-western 
States. 

It  cannot  be  expected  that  I  should  pass  in 
entire  silence  the  -system  of  slave-holding  in 
the  Lower  Valley,  or  its  influence  on  the  man- 
ners and  habits  of  the  people.  This  state  of 
society  seems  unavoidable  at  present,  though 
I  have  no  idea  or  expectation  it  will  be  per- 
petual. Opposite  sentiments  and  feelings  are 


CHARACTER,   PURSUITS,   ETC.  Ill 

spreading  over  the  whole  earth,  and  a  person 
must  have  been  a  very  inattentive  observer  of 
the  tendencies  and  effects  of  the  diffusion  of 
liberal  principles,  not  to  perceive  that  heredi- 
tary, domestic  servitude  must  have  an  end. 

This  is  a  subject,  however,  that,  from  our 
civil  compact,  belongs  exclusively  to  the  citi- 
zens of  the  States  concerned;  and  if  not  un- 
reasonably annoyed,  the  farming  slave-holding 
States,  as  Kentucky,  Tennesse,  and  Missouri., 
will  soon  provide  for  its  eventual  termination. 
Doubtless,  in  the  cotton  and  sugar-growing 
States  it  will  retain  its  hold  with  more  tenacity*, 
but  the  influence  of  free  principles  will  roll 
onward  until  the  evil  is  annihilated. 

The  barbarous  and  unwise  regulations  in 
some  of  the  planting  States,  which  prohibit  the 
slaves  from  being  taught  to  read,  are  a  serious 
impediment  to  the  moral  and  religious  instruc- 
tion of  that  numerous  and  unfortunate  class. 
Such  laws  display,  on  the  part  of  the  law  ma- 
kers, little  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and 
the  real  tendency  of  things.  To  keep  slaves 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  rights  of  man,  in  this 
spirit-stirring  age,  is  utterly  impossible.  Seek 
out  the  remotest  and  darkest  corner  of  Louis- 
iana, and  plant  every  guard  that  is  possible 
around  the  negro  quarters,  and  the  light  of 
truth  will  penetrate.  Slaves  will  find  out,  for 
they  already  know  it,  that  they  possess  rights 
as  men.  And  here  is  the  fatal  mistake  now 
committed  in  the  southern  slave-holding  States 
— legislating  against  the  instruction  of  their 


112 


slaves,  to  keep  them  from  knowing  their 
rights.  They  will  obtain  some  loose,  vague, 
and  undefined  notion  of  the  doctrine  of  human 
rights,  and  the  unrighteousness  of  oppression 
in  this  republican  country.  Being  kept  from 
all  the  moral  and  religious  instruction  which 
Sabbath  schools,  the  Bible,  and  other  good 
books  are  calculated  to  impart,  and  with  those 
undefined  notions  of  liberty,  and  without  any 
moral  principle,  they  are  prepared  to  enter 
into  the  first  insurrectionary  movement  pro- 
posed by  some  artful  and  talented  leader. 
The  same  notion  prevailed  in  the  West  Indies 
half  a  century  since,  and  many  of  the  planters 
resisted  and  persecuted  the  benevolent  Mora- 
vians, who  went  there  to  instruct  the  blacks 
in  the  principles  and  duties  of  religion.  A 
few  of  the  planters  reasoned  justly.  They 
invited  these  benevolent  men  on  their  planta- 
tions, and  gave  them  full  liberty  on  the  Sab- 
bath, and  at  other  suitable  seasons,  to  instruct 
their  slaves.  The  happiest  effects  followed. 
On  these  plantations,  where  riot,  misrule, 
and  threatened  insurrections,  had  once  spread 
a  panic  through  the  colony,  order,  quietness 
and  submission  followed.  Such  would  be  the 
effects  if  the  southern  planter  would  invite 
the  minister  of  the  gospel  and  the  Sabbath 
school  teacher  to  visit  his  plantation,  allow 
his  slaves  to  be  instructed  to  read,  and  each 
to  be  furnished  with  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures. 
The  southern  planter  hourly  lives  under  the 
most  terrific  apprehensions.  It  is  in  vain  to 


CHARACTER,  PURSUITS,   ETC.  113 

disguise  the  fact.  As  Mr.  Randolph  once 
significantly  said  in  Congress,  "when  the 
night  bell  rings,  the  mother  hugs  her  infant 
closer  to  her  breast."  Slavery,  under  any 
circumstances,  is  a  bitter  draught — equally 
bitter  to  him  who  tenders  the  cup,  and  to  him 
who  drinks  it.  But  in  all  the  northern  slave- 
holding  States,  it  is  comparatively  mild.  Its 
condition  would  be  much  alleviated,  and  the 
planter  might  sleep  securely,  if  he  would 
abolish  his  barbarous  laws,  more  congenial 
with  Asiatic  despotism  than  American  repub- 
licanism, and  provide  for  his  slaves  the  bene- 
fits of  wholesome  instruction.  Philanthropy 
and  interest  unite  in  their  demands  upon 
every  southern  planter  to  provide  Sunday, 
school  instruction  for  his  slaves. 

The  planting  region  of  the  Lower  Valley 
furnishes  an  immense  market  for  the  produc- 
tions and  manufactures  of  the  Upper  Valley. 
Indirectly,  the  Louisiana  sugar  business  is  a 
source  of  profit  to  the  farmer  of  Illinois  and 
Missouri.  Pork,  beef,  corn,  corn-meal,  flour, 
potatoes,  butter,  hay,  &c.,  in  vast  quantities, 
go  to  supply  these  plantations.  In  laying  in 
their  stores,  the  sugar  planters  usually  pur- 
chase one  barrel  of  second  or  third  quality  of 
beef  or  pork  per  annum,  for  each  laborer. 
Large  drafts  for  sugar-mills,  engines  and  boil- 
ers, are  made  upon  the  Cincinnati  and  Pitts- 
burgh iron  foundries.  Mules  and  horses  are 
driven  from  the  upper  country,  or  from  the 
Mexican  dominions,  to  keep  up  the  supply. 
6 


114  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

The  commerce  of  the  upper  country  that 
concentrates  at  New  Orleans  is  amazing,  and 
every  year  is  rapidly  increasing.  Sixteen 
hundred  arrivals  of  steam-boats  took  place  in 
1832,  and  the  estimated  number,  in  1835,  is 
2300. 

Farmers.  In  the  northern  half  of  the  Val- 
ley the  productions,  and  the  modes  of  cultiva- 
tion and  living  are  such  as  to  characterize  a 
large  proportion  of  the  population  as  farm- 
ers. No  country  on  earth  has  such  facilities 
for  agriculture.  The  soil  is  abundantly  fer- 
tile, the  seasons  ordinarily  favorable  to  the 
growth  and  maturity  of  crops,  and  every 
farmer,  in  a  few  years,  with  reasonable  indus- 
try, becomes  comparatively  independent. 
Tobacco  and  hemp  are  among  the  staple  pro- 
ductions of  Kentucky. 

Neat  cattle,  horses,  mules  and  swine  are 
its  stock.  Some  stock  growers  have  monop- 
olized the  smaller  farms  till  they  are  surround- 
ed with  several  thousand  acres.  Blue  grass 
pastures  furnish  summer  feed,  and  exten- 
sive fields  of  corn,  cut  up  near  the  ground, 
and  stacked  in  the  fields,  furnish  stores  for  fat- 
tening stock  in  the  winter. 

In  some  counties,  raising  of  stock  has  taken 
place  of  all  other  business.  The  Scioto  Val- 
ley, and  other  districts  in  Ohio,  are  famous 
for  fine,  well-fed  beef.  Thousands  of  young 
cattle  are  purchased  by  the  Ohio  graziers,  at 
the  close  of  winter,  of  the  farmers  of  Illinois 
and  Missouri.  The  Miami  and  White-water 


CHARACTER,   PURSUITS,  ETC.  115 

sections  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  abound  with 
swine.  Cincinnati  has  been  the  great  pork 
mart  of  the  world.  150,000  head  of  hogs 
have  been  frequently  slaughtered  there  in  a 
season.  About  75,000  is  estimated  to  have 
been  the  number  slaughtered  at  that  place  the 
past  season.  This  apparent  falling  off  in  the 
pork  business,  at  Cincinnati,  is  accounted  for 
by  the  vast  increase  of  business  at  other  pla- 
ces. Since  the  opening  of  the  canals  in  Ohio, 
many  provision  establishments  have  been 
made  along  their  line.  Much  business  of  the 
kind  is  now  done  at  Terre  Haute,  and  other 
towns  on  the  \Vabash, — at  Madison,  Louis- 
ville, and  other  towns  on  the  Ohio, — at  Alton, 
and  other  places  in  Illinois. 

The  farmers  of  the  West  are  independent 
in  feeling,  plain  in  dress,  simple  in  manners, 
frank  and  hospitable  in  their  dwellings,  and 
soon  acquire  a  competency  by  moderate  labor. 
Those  from  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  or  other 
States  south  of  the  Ohio  river,  have  large 
fields,  well  cultivated,  and  enclosed  with 
strong  built  rail  or  worm  fences,  but  they  often 
neglect  to  provide  spacious  barns  and  other 
out-houses  for  their  grain,  hay  and  stock. 
The  influence  of  habit  is  powerful.  A  Ken- 
tuckian  would  look  with  contempt  upon  the 
low  fences  of  a  New  Englander,  as  indicating 
thriftless  habits,  while  the  latter  would  point 
at  the  unsheltered  stacks  of  wheat,  and  dirty 
threshing-floor  of  the  former,  as  proof  direct 
of  bad  economy  and  wastefulness. 


116 

Population  of  the  Cities  and  large  Towns. 
The  population  of  western  towns  does  not 
differ  essentially  from  the  same  class  in  the 
Atlantic  States,  excepting  there  is  much  less 
division  into  grades  and  ranks,  less  ignor- 
ance, low  depravity  and  squalid  poverty 
amongst  the  poor,  and  less  aristocratic  feeling 
amongst  the  rich.  As  there  is  never  any 
lack  of  employment  for  laborers  of  every  de- 
scription, there  is  comparatively  no  suffering 
from  that  cause.  And  the  hospitable  habits 
of  the  people  provide  for  the  sick,  infirm  and 
helpless.  Doubtless,  our  circumstances,  more 
than  any  thing  else,  cause  these  shades  of 
difference.  The  common  mechanic  is  on  a 
social  equality  with  the  merchant,  the  lawyer, 
the  physician,  and  the  minister.  They  have 
shared  in  the  same  fatigues  and  privations, 
partook  of  the  same  homely  fare,  in  many  in- 
stances have  fought  side  by  side  in  defence  of 
their  homes  against  the  inroads  of  savages, — 
are  frequently  elected  to  the  same  posts  of 
honor,  and  have  accumulated  property  simul- 
taneously. Many  mechanics  in  the  western 
cities  and  towns,  are  the  owners  of  their  own 
dwellings,  and  of  other  buildings,  which  they 
rent.  I  have  known  many  a  wealthy  merchant, 
or  professional  gentleman  occupy  on  rent,  a 
building  worth  several  thousand  dollars,  the 
property  of  some  industrious  mechanic,  who, 
but  a  few  years  previous,  was  an  apprentice 
lad,  or  worked  at  his  trade  as  a  journeyman. 


CHARACTER,  PURSUITS,   ETC.  117 

Any  sober,  industrious  mechanic  can  place 
himself  in  affluent  circumstances,  and  place 
his  children  on  an  equality  with  the  children 
of  the  commercial  and  professional  communi- 
ty, by  migrating  to  any  of  our  new  and  rising 
western  towns.  They  will  find  no  occasion 
here  for  combinations  to  sustain  their  interests, 
nor  meet  with  annoyance  from  gangs  of  un- 
principled foreigners,  under  the  imposing 
names  of  "  Trades  Unions." 

Manufactures  of  various  kinds  are  carried 
on  in  our  western  cities.  Pittsburgh  has 
been  characterized  as  the  "Birmingham  of 
America."  The  manufactures  of  iron,  ma- 
chinery, and  glass,  and  the  building  of  steam- 
boats, are  carried  on  to  a  great  extent. 

Iron  and  salt  are  made  in  great  quantities, 
in  Western  Pennsylvania  and  Western  Vir- 
ginia. Steam-boats  are  built,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  at  Fulton,  two  miles  above  Cincinnati, 
and  occasionally,  at  many  other  places  on  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  Alton  offers  great 
facilities  for  this  business.  Cotton  bagging, 
bale  ropes  and  cordage,  are  manufactured  in 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky.  The  following  ar- 
ticle, from  the  Covington  Enquirer,  gives  a 
few  items  of  the  industry  and  enterprise  of 
Kentucky, — of  the  manufacture  of  Newport 
and  Covington.  Both  of  these  thriving  towns 
lie  at  the  mouth  of  the  Licking  river,  the  one 
on  the  right  bank,  and  the  other  on  the  left, 
and  both  in  direct  view  of  Cincinnati. 


118  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Manufactures  in  Covington  and  Newport. 
"  Founding  the  calculation  >upon  the  actual 
manufactures  of  October,  and  the  known 
power  of  their  machinery,  the  company  will, 
the  ensuing  year,  give  employment  to  more 
than  four  hundred  operatives,  and  manufac- 
ture,— 

Cotton  bagging, 60,000  pounds, 

"       yarns,.    .  . 84,000       " 

Bale  rope, 274,268 

Cordage, 448,000 

Linseys, 44,592  yards, 

Cotton  plains, 63,588     " 

Kentucky  jeans, 97,344     " 

Cotton  bagging  and  hemp, 548,530     " 

"Estimating  bale  rope  and  cotton  bagging 
at  thirty-three  per  cent,  under  the  price  at 
which  the  company  have  sold  these  articles 
for  the  last  §ix  months,  the  manufactures  of 
this  company,  during  the  ensuing  year,  will 
amount  to  $358,548  44.  Almost  all  the  manu- 
factures at  Covington  and  Newport  being  ex- 
ported to  foreign  markets,  it  will  result  that 
the  annual  exports  from  these  points  will,  in 
round  numbers,  be,  from  the 

•  Interior, $750,000 

Campbell  county, 150,000 

Boone  "         234,000 

Covington, 648,500 

Newport, 358,500 

$2,041,000 

"  The  Newport  Manufacturing  Company 
has  depended  principally,  for  its  supply  of 


CHARACTER,   PURSUITS,  ETC.  119 

hemp,  on  the  production  of  Mason  county,  of 
which  Maysville  is  the  market.  This  season, 
they  have  not  been  able  to  get  a  supply  at 
Maysville;  and.it  is  a  remarkable  fact  in  the 
history  of  the  hemp  manufactories  in  Ken- 
tucky, that  this  company,  owing  to  the  scarci- 
ty and  high  prices  of  hemp  in  Kentucky,  have 
imported  this  season,  354,201  Ibs.  Russia  hemp." 

Various  manufactories  are  springing  up  in 
all  the  new  States,  which  will  be  noticed  un- 
der their  proper  heads. 

The  number  of  merchants  and  traders  is 
very  great  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
yet  mercantile  business  is  rapidly  increasing. 
Thousands  of  the  farmers  of  the  West  are 
partial  traders.  They  take  their  own  pro- 
duce, in  their  own  flat  boats,  down  the  rivers 
to  the  market  of  the  lower  country. 

Frontier  Class  of  Population.  The  rougji, 
sturdy  habits  of  the  backwoodsmen,  living  in 
that  plenty  which  depends  on  God  and  na- 
ture, have  laid  the  foundation  of  independent 
thought  and  feeling  deep  in  the  minds  of  west- 
ern people. 

Generally,  in  all  the  western  settlements, 
three  classes,  like  the  waves  of  tjie  .oeean^ 
have  rolled  one  after  the  other.  Firstj  comes 
the  pioneer,  who  depends  for  the  subsistence 
of  his  family  chiefly  upon  the  natural  growth 
of  vegetation,  called  the  "range,"  and  the 
proceeds  of  hunting.  His  implements  of  ag- 
riculture are  rude,  chiefly  of  his  own  make, 
and  his  efforts  directed  mainly  to  a  crop  of 


120  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

*! :  % 

corn,  and  a  "truck  patch."  The  last  is  a 
rude  garden  for  growing  cabbage,  beans,  corn 
for  roasting  ears,  cucumbers  and  potatoes. 
A  log  cabin,  and,  occasionally,  a  stable  and 
corn-crib,  and  a  field  of  a  dozen  acres,  the 
timber  girdled  or  "deadened/'  and  fenced, 
are  enough  for  his  occupancy.  It  is  quite  im- 
material whether  he  ever  becomes  the  owner 
of  the  soil.  He  is  the  occupant  for  the  time 
being,  pays  no  rent,  and  feels  as  independent 
as  the  "  lord  of  the  manor."  With  a  horse, 
cow,  and  one  or  two  breeders  of  swine,  he 
strikes  into  the  woods  with  his  family,  and 
becomes  the  founder  of  a  new  county,  or  per- 
haps State.  He  builds  his  cabin,  gathers 
around  him  a  few  other  families  of  similar 
taste  f  and  habits,  and  occupies  till  the  range 
is  somewhat  subdued,  and  hunting  a  little  pre- 
carious, or,  which  is  more  frequently  the 
case,  till  neighbors  crowd  around,  roads, 
bridges  and  fields  annoy  him,  and  he  lacks 
elbow  room.  The  preemption  law  enables 
him  to  dispose  of  his  cabin  and  corn-field,  to 
the  next  class  of  emigrants,  and,  to  employ 
his.  own  figures,  he  "  breaks  for  the  high  tirn- 
%er,"  '•'  clears  out  for  the  New  Purchase,"  or 
migrates  to  Arkansas,  or  Texas,  to  work  the 
same  process  over. 

The  next  class  of  emigrants  purchase  the 
lands,  add  field  to  field,  clear  out  the  roads, 
throw  rough  bridges  over  the  streams,  put 
up  hewn  log  houses,  with  glass  windows,  and 
brick  or  stone  chimneys,  occasionally  plant 


CHARACTER,   PURSUITS,   ETC.  121 

m  % 

orchards,  build  mills,  school-houses,  court- 
houses, &c.,  and  exhibit  the  picture  and  forms 
of  plain,  frugal,  civilized  life. 

Another  wave  rolls  on.  The  men  of  capital 
and  enterprise  come.  The  "settler"  is  ready 
to  sell  out,  and  take  the  advantage  of  the  rise 
of  property, — push  farther  into  the  interior, 
and  become  himself,  a  man  of  capital  and  en- 
terprise in  turn.  The  small  village  rises  to  a 
spacious  town  or  city;  substantial  edifices  of 
brick,  extensive  fields,  orchards,  gardens, 
colleges  and  churches  are  seen.  Broadcloths, 
silks,  leghorns,  crapes,  and  all  the  refinements 
luxuries,  elegancies,  frivolities  and  fashions, 
are  in  vogue.  Thus  wave  after  wave  is  roll- 
ing westward: — the  real  el  dorado  is  still  far- 

L  4her  on. 

A  portion  of  the  two  first  classes  remain 
stationary  amidst  the  general  movement,  im- 

^     prove  their  habits  and  condition,  and  rise  in 
the  scale  of  society. 

The  writer  has  traveled  much  amongst  the 
iirst  class, — the  real  pioneers.  He  has  lived 
many  years  in  connexion  with  the  second 
grade;  and  now  the  third  wave  is  sweeping 
over  large  districts  of  Indiana,  Illinois  and 
Missouri.  Migration  has  become  almost  a 
habit,  in  the  West.  Hundreds  of  men  can  be 
found,  not  fifty  years  of  age,  who  have  settled 
for  the  fourth,  fifth,  or  sixth  time  on  a  new 
spot.  To  sell  out,  and  remove  only  a  few 
hundred  miles,  makes  up  a  portion  of  the  va- 
riety of  backwoods  life  and  manners. 


122  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

But  to  return  to  the  frontier  class: 

1.  Dress.    The  hunting-shirt  is  universally 
worn.     This  is  a  kind  of  loose,  open  frock, 
reaching  halfway  down  the  thighs,  with  large 
sleeves,  the  body  open  in  front,  lapped  over 
and  belted    with  a  leathern    girdle,   held   to- 
gether by  a  buckle.     The  cape  is  large,  and 
usually   fringed  with   different   colored   cloth 
from  that  of  the   body.      The  bosom  of  this 
dress    sometimes    serves    as    a   wallet    for    a 
"chunk"  of  bread,  jerk  or  smoke-dried  veni- 
son, and  other  articles.     It  is  made  either  of 
dressed    deer-skins,    linsey,   coarse  linen,  or 
cotton.     The  shirt,  waistcoat  and  pantaloons 
are  of  similar  articles,   and  of  the  customary 
form.      Wrappers,  of  cloth  or  dressed  skins, 
called   "  leggins,"  are    tied    round    the    legs 
when  traveling.     Moccasins,  of  deer   skins, 
shoe-packs  and  rough  shoes,  the   leather  tan- 
ned and  cobbled  by  the  owner,  are  worn   on 
the  feet. 

The  females  dress  in  a  coarse  gown,  of  cot- 
ton, a  bonnet  of  the  same  stuff,  and  denomi- 
nated in  the  Eastern  States  a  "  sun  bonnet." 
The  latter  is  constantly  worn  through  the  day, 
especially  when  company  is  present.  The 
clothing,  for  both  sexes,  is  made  at  home. 
The  wheel  and  loom  are  common  articles  of 
furniture,  in  every  cabin. 

2.  Dwellings.    "Cabin"  is  the  name  fora 
plain,  rough  log  house,  throughout  the  West. 
The  spot  being  selected,  usually,  in  the  tim- 
bered land,  and   near  some   spring,  the   first 


CHARACTER,  PURSUITS,   ETC.  123 

operation  of  the  newly  arrived  emigrant  is  to 
cut  about  forty  logs,  of  the  proper  size  and 
length,  for  a  single  cabin,  or  twice  that  nMm- 
ber  for  a  double  one,  and  haul  them  to  the 
spot.  A  large  oak,  or  other  suitable  timber, 
of  staight  grain  and  free  from  limbs,  is  selected 
for  clapboards  for  the  roof:  these  are  four  feet 
in  length,  split  with  a  froe,  six  or  eight  inches 
wide  and  half  an  inch  thick.  Puncheons  are 
used  for  the  floor:  these  are  made  by  splitting 
trees,  about  eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  into 
slabs,  two  or  three  inches  in  thickness,  and 
hewn  on  the  upper  surface.  The  door-way  is 
made  by  cutting  out  the  logs,  after  raising,  of 
a  suitable  width,  and  putting  upright  pieces  of 
timber  at  the  sides.  The  shutter  is  made  of 
clapboards,  pinned  on  cross  pieces,  hung  by 
Wooden  hinges,  and  fastened  by  a  wooden 
latch.  A  similar  aperture,  but  wider,  is  made 
at  one  end,  for  the  chimney.  The  men  of  the 
settlement,  when  notified,  collect  and  raise 
the  building.  Four  stout  men,  with  axes,  are 
placed  on  the  corners,  to  notch  the  logs  to- 
gether, while  the  rest  of  the  company  lift  them 
up.  After  the  roof  is  on,  the  body  of  the  build- 
ing is  slightly  hewed  down,  both  outside  and 
inside.  The  roof  is  formed  by  shortening  each 
end  log,  in  succession,  till  one  log  forms  the 
comb  of  the  roof.  The  clapboards  are  put  on 
so  as  to  cover  all  cracks,  and  held  down  by 
poles,  or  small  logs.  The  chimney  is  built  of 
sticks  of  wood,  the  largest  at  the  bottom,  and 
the  smallest  at  the  top,  and  laid  up  with  a  sup- 


124 


ply  of  mud  or  clay  mortar.  The  interstices 
between  the  logs  are  chinked  with  strips  of 
wood,  and  daubed  with  mortar,  both  outside 
and  inside.  A  double  cabin  consists  of  two 
such  buildings,  with  a  space  of  ten  or  twelve 
feet  between,  over  which  the  roof  extends. 

A  log  house,  in  western  parlance,  differs 
from  a  cabin,  in  the  logs  being  hewn  on  two 
sides,  to  an  equal  thickness,  before  raising;  in 
having  a  framed  and  shingled  roof,  a  brick  or 
stone  chimney,  windows,  tight  floors,  and  are 
frequently  clapboarded  on  the  outside,  and 
plastered  within. 

A  log  house  thus  finished,  costs  more  than 
a  framed  one.  Cabins  are  often  the  tempora- 
ry dwelling  of  opulent  and  highly  respectable 
families. 

The  axe,  auger,  froe,  drawing-knife,  broad 
axe,  and  cross-cut  saw,  are  the  only  tools  re- 
quired in  constructing  these  rude  edifices; 
sometimes  the  axe  and  auger  only  are  em- 
ployed. Not  a  nail  or  pane  of  glass  is  need- 
ed. Cabins  are  by  no  means  so  wretched  for 
residences,  as  their  name  imports.  They  are 
often  roomy,  comfortable  and  neat.  If  one  is 
not  sufficient  to  accommodate  the  family, 
another  is  added,  and  another,  until  sufficient 
room  is  obtained. 

3.  Furniture,  and  mode  of  living.  The  genu- 
ine backwoodsman  makes  himself  and  family 
comfortable  and  contented,  where  those,  un- 
accustomed to  his  mode  of  life,  would  live  in 
unavailing  regret,  or  make  a  thousand  awk- 


CHARACTER,   PURSUITS,   ETC.  125 

ward  apologies  on  the  visit  of  a  neighbor  or 
traveler.  A  table  is  made  of  a  split  slab,  and 
supported  by  four  round  legs.  Clapboards, 
supported  by  pins  stuck  in  the  logs,  answer 
for  shelves  for  table  furniture.  The  bedstead 
is  often  made  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  by 
sticks,  placed  in  the  logs,  supported  at  the 
I  outward  corner  by  a  post,  on  which  clapboards 
!  are  laid,  the  ends  of  which  enter  the  wall,  be- 
tween the  logs,  and  which  support  the  bed- 
ding. On  the  arrival  of  travelers  or  visiters, 
the  bed  clothing  is  shared  with  them,  being 
|  spread  on  the  puncheon  floor,  that  the  feet 
[may  project  towards  the  fire.  Many  a  night 
has  the  writer  passed  in  this  manner,  after  a 
fatiguing  day's  ride,  and  reposed  more  com- 
fortably than  on  a  bed  of  down,  in  a  spacious 
mansion.  All  the  family,  of  both  sexes,  with 
all  the  strangers  who  arrive,  often  lodge  in 
the  same  room.  In  that  case,  the  under  gar- 
ments are  nover  taken  off,  and  no  conscious- 
ness of  impropriety  or  indelicacy  of  feeling  is 
manifested.  A  few  pins,  stuck  in  the  wall  of 
the  cabin,  display  the  dresses  of  the  women 
and  the  hunting-shirts  of  the  men.  Two  small 
forks,  or  buck's  horns,  fastened  to  a  joist,  are 
indispensable  articles  for  the  support  of  the 
I  rifle.  A  loose  floor  of  clapboards,  and  sup- 
ported by  round  poles,  is  thrown  over  head, 
for  a  loft,  which  furnishes  a  place  to  throw 
any  articles  not  immediately  wanted,  and  is 
frequently  used  for  a  lodging  place  for  the 
younger  branches  of  the  family.  A  ladder 


126  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

planted  in  the  corner,   behind  the  door,   an- 
swers the  purpose  of  stairs. 

The  necessary  table  and  kitchen  furniture 
are  a  few  pewter  dishes  and  spoons,  knives 
and  forks  (for  which,  however,  the  common 
hunting-knife  is  often  a  substitute),  tin  cups, 
for  coffee  or  rnilk,  a  water-pail,  and  a  small 
gourd  or  calabash  for  water,  with  a  pot,  and 
iron  Dutch  oven,  constitute  the  chief  articles. 
Add  to  these  a  tray,  for  wetting  up  meal,  for 
corn-bread,  a  coffee-pot  and  set  of  cups  and 
saucers,  a  set  of  common  plates,  and  the 
cabin  is  furnished.  .The  hominy  mortar  and 
hand-mill,  are  in  use  in  all  frontier  settle- 
ments. The  first,  consists  of  a  block  of  wood, 
with  an  excavation  burned  at  one  end,  and 
scraped  out  with  an  iron  tool,  wide  at  top  and 
narrow  at  the  bottom,  that  the  action  of  the 
pestle  may  operate  to  the  best  advantage. 
Sometimes  a  stump  of  a  large  tree  is  excava- 
ted, while  in  its  natural  position;  an  elastic 
pole,  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  length,  with  the 
large  end  fastened  under  the  ground  log  of 
the  cabin,  and  the  other  elevated  ten  or  fifteen 
feet,  and  supported  by  two  forks,  to  which  a 
pestle  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter,  and  eight 
or  ten  feet  long,  is  fixed,  on  the  elevated  end, 
by  a  large  mortice,  and  a  pin  put  through  its 
lower  end,  so  that  two  persons  can  work  it  in 
conjunction.  This  is  much  used  for  pounding 
corn.  A  very  simple  instrument,  to  answer 
the  same  purpose,  is  a  circular  piece  of  tin, 
perforated,  and  attached  to  a  piece  of  wood, 


• 

'..•*• 

CHARACTER,   PURSUITS,   ETC.  127 

like  a  grater,  on  which  the  ears  of  corn  arc 
rubbed,  for  meal.  The  hand-mill  is  in  the 
same  form  as  that  used  in  Judea,  in  the  time 
of  our  Savior.  Two  circular  stones,  about 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  constructed  like 
ordinary  mill-stones,  with  a  staff  let  into  the 
runner  or  upper  stone  near  its  outer  edge, 
with  the  upper  end  inserted  in  a  joist  or  board 
over  head,  and  turned  by  the  hands  of  two 
persons,  while  one  feeds  it  with  corn.  Horse- 
mills  follow  the  mortar  and  hand-mill,  in  the 
scale  of  improvement*  They  are  constructed 
variously.  A  band-mill  is  the  most  simple. 
A  large,  upright  post  is  placed  on  a  gudgeon, 
with  shafts  extending  horizontally,  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet;  around  the  ends  of  these  is  a 
band  of  raw  hide,  twisted,  which  passes  round 
the  trundle  head  and  turns  the  spindle,  and 
communicates  motion  to  the  stone.  A  cog-mill 
is  formed  by  constructing  a  rim,  with  cogs 
upon  the  shafts,  and  a  trundle  head  to  corres- 
pond. Each  person  furnishes  his  own  horses 
to  turn  the  mill,  performs  his  own  grinding, 
and  pays  toll  to  the  owner,  for  the  use  of  the 
mill.  Mills,  with  the  wheel  on  an  inclined 
plane,  and  carried  by  oxen  standing  on  the 
wheel,  are  much  in  use  in  those  sections 
where  water-power  is  not  convenient;  but 
these  indicate  an  advance  to  the  second  grade 
of  society. 

Instead  of  bolting-cloths,  the  frontier  people 
use  a  sieve,  or,  as  it  is  called  here,  a  "search." 
This  is  made  from  a  deer-skin,  prepared  to 


128  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

resemble  parchment,  stretched  on  a  hoop,  and 
perforated  full  of  holes,  with  a  hot  wire. 

Every  backwoodsman  carries,  on  all  occa- 
sions, the  means  of  furnishing  his  meat.  The 
rifle,  bullet-pouch,  and  horn,  hunting-knife, 
horse  and  dog,  are  his  constant  companions, 
when  from  home,  and  wo  be  to  the  wolf,  bear, 
deer  or  turkey  that  comes  within  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  of  his  trail. 

With  the  first  emigration  there  are  few  me- 
chanics; hence  every  settler  becomes  expert 
in  supplying  his  own  necessaries.  Besides 
clearing  land,  building  cabins,  and  making 
fences,  he  stocks  his  own  plough,  repairs  his 
wagon  and  his  harness,  tans  his  own  leather, 
makes  his  shoes,  tables,  bedsteads,  stools,  or 
seats,  trays,  and  a  hundred  other  articles. 
These  may  be  rudely  constructed,  but  they 
answer  his  purpose  very  well. 

The  following  extracts,  from  the  graphic 
"  SKETCHES  OF  THE  WEST,"  by  James  Hall, 
Esq.,  completes  this  extended  picture  of  back- 
woods manners: 

"  The  traveler,  accustomed  to  different 
modes  of  life,  is  struck  with  the  rude  and  un- 
comfortable appearance  of  every  thing  about 
this  people;  the  rudeness  of  their  habitations, 
the  carelessness  of  their  agriculture,  the  un- 
sightly coarseness  of  all  their  implements  and 
furniture,  the  unambitious  homeliness  of  all 
their  goods  and  chattels,  except  the  axe,  the 
rifle,  and  the  horse,  these  being  invariably 
the  best  and  handsomest  which  their  means 


CHARACTER,  PURSUITS,   ETC.  129 

enable  them  to  procure.  But  he  is  mistaken 
in  supposing  them  indolent  or  improvident; 
and  is  little  aware  how  much  ingenuity  and 
toil  have  l>een  exerted  in  procuring  the  few 
comforts  which  they  possess,  in  a  country 
without  arts,  mechanics,  money,  or  commer- 
cial intercourse. 

"The  backwoodsman  has  many  substantial 
enjoyments.  After  the  fatigue  of  his  journey, 
and  a  short  season  of  privation  and  danger, 
he  finds  himself  surrounded  with  plenty.  His 
cattle,  hogs  and  poultry,  supply  his  table  with 
meat;  the  forest  abounds  in  game;  the  fertile 
soil  yields  abundant  crops;  he  has,  of  course, 
bread,  milk  and  butter;  the  rivers  furnish  fish, 
and  the  woods  honey.  For  these  various  ar- 
ticles, there  is,  at  first,  no  market,  and  the 
farmer  acquires  the  generous  habit  of  spread- 
ing them  profusely  on  his  table,  and  giving 
them  freely  to  a  hungry  traveler  or  indigent 
neighbor. 

"  Hospitality  and  kindness  are  among  the 
virtues  of  the  first  settlers.  Exposed  to  com- 
mon dangers  and  toils,  they  become  united  by 
the  closest  ties  of  social  intercourse.  Accus- 
tomed to  arm  in  each  other's  defence,  to  aid  in 
each  other's  labor,  to  assist  in  the  affectionate 
duty  of  nursing  the  sick,  and  the  mournful 
office  of  burying  the  dead,  the  best  affections 
of  the  heart  are  kept  in  constant  exercise;  and 
there  is,  perhaps,  no  class  of  men  in  our 
country,  who  obey  the  calls  of  benevolence, 
6* 


130 


with  such  cheerful  promptness,  or  with  so 
liberal  a  sacrifice  of  personal  convenience. 

"  We  read  marvellous  stories  of  the  ferocity 
of  western  men.  The  name  of  Kentuckian  is 
constantly  associated  with  the  idea  of  fighting, 
dirking  and  gouging.  The  people  of  whom 
we  are  now  writing,  do  not  deserve  this  char- 
acter. They  live  together  in  great  harmony, 
with  little  contention,  and  less  litigation.  The 
backwoodsmen  are  a  generous  and  placable 
race.  They  are  bold  and  impetuous;  and, 
when  differences  do  arise  among  them,  they 
are  more  apt  to  give  vent  to  their  resentment 
at  once,  than  to  brood  over  their  wrongs,  or 
to  seek  legal  redress.  But  this  conduct  is 
productive  of  harmony;  for  men  are  always 
more  guarded  in  their  deportment  to  each 
other,  and  more  cautious  of  giving  offence, 
when  they  know  that  the  insult  will  be  quick- 
ly felt,  and  instantly  resented,  than  when  the 
consequences  of  an  offensive  action  are  doubt- 
ful, and  the  retaliation  distant.  We  have  no 
evidence  that  the  pioneers  of  Kentucky  were 
quarrelsome  or  cruel;  and  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  the  same  race,  at  a  later 
period,  has  led  the  writer  to  the  conclusion, 
that  they  are  a  humane  people;  bold  and  dar- 
ing, when  opposed  to  an  enemy,  but  amiable 
in  their  intercourse  with  each  other  and  with 
strangers,  and  habitually  inclined  to  peace." 

In  morals,  and  the  essential  principles  of 
religion,  this  class  of  people  are  by  no  means 
so  defective  as  many  imagine.  The  writer 


CHARACTER,   PURSUITS,   ETC.  131 

has,  repeatedly,  been  in  settlements  and  dis- 
tricts beyond  the  pale  of  civil  and  criminal 
law,  where  the  people  are  (l  a  law  unto  them- 
selves," where  courts,  lawyers,  sheriffs  and 
constables  existed  not,  and  yet  has  seen  as 
much  quiet  and  order,  and  more  honesty  in 
paying  just  debts,  than  where  legal  restraints 
operated  in  all  their  force.  The  turpitude  of 
vice  and  the  majesty  of  virtue,  were  as  ap- 
parent as  in  older  settlements.  Industry,  in 
laboring  or  hunting,  bravery  in  war,  candor, 
honesty  and  hospitality  were  rewarded  with 
the  confidence  and  honor  of  the  people. 
Regulating  parties  would  exist,  and  thieves, 
rogues  and  counterfeiters  were  sure  to  re- 
ceive a  striped  jacket,  "worked  nineteen  to 
the  dozen;"  and  by  this  mode  of  operation, 
induced  to  "clear  out:"  but  truth,  upright- 
ness, honesty  and  sincerity  are  always  re- 
spected. Many  of  the  frontier  class  are  il- 
literate, but  they  are,  by  no  means,  ignorant. 
They-  are  a  shrewd,  observing,  thinking  peo- 
ple. They  may  not  have  learned  the  black 
marks  in  books,  but  they  have  studied  men 
and  things,  and  have  a  quick  insight  into  hu- 
man nature.  They  are  not  inattentive  to  re- 
ligion, though  their  opportunities  of  religious 
instruction  are  few  compared  with  old  coun- 
tries. They  have  prejudices  and  fears  about 
many  of  the  organized  benevolent  societies  of 
the  present  age,  yet  there  are  no  people  more 
readily  disposed  to  attend  religious  meetings, 
and  whose  hearts  are  more  readily  affected 


132 

with  the  gospel,  than  the  backwoods  people; 
and  as  large  a  proportion  are  orderly  profes- 
sors of  religion  as  in  any  part  of  the  Union. 
Ministers  of  the  gospel  and  missionaries,  who 
can  suit  themselves  to  the  circumstances  and 
hahits  of  frontier  people;  who,  like  Paul,  can 
"  become  all  things  to  all  men/'  find  pleasant 
and  interesting  fields  of  labor  on  all  our  fron- 
tiers. But  let  such  persons  show  fastidious- 
ness, affect  superior  intelligence  and  virtue, 
catechise  the  people  for  their  plainness  and 
simplicity  of  manners,  and  draw  invidious 
comparisons,  and  they  are  sure  to  be  "  used 
up,"  or  left  without  hearers,  to  deplore  the 
"  dark  clouds  '*  of  ignorance  and  prejudice  in 
the  West. 

Hunters  and  Trappers.  Entirely  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  civilization,  are  many  hundreds 
of  an  unique  class,  distinguished  by  the  terms 
hunters  and  trappers.  They  are  engaged  in 
hunting  buffalo,  and  other  wild  game,  and 
trapping  for  beaver.  They  are  found  upon 
the  vast  prairies  of  the  West  and  north-west; 
in  all  the  defiles,  and  along  the  streams  of  the 
Rocky  mountains,  and  in  various  parts  of  the 
Oregon  Territory,  to  the  peninsula  of  Califor- 
nia. They  are  an  enterprising  and  erratic 
race,  from  almost  every  State,  and  are  usually 
in  the  employ  of  persons  of  capital  and  enter- 
prise, and  who  are  concerned  in  the  fur  and 
peltry  business.  Expeditions  for  one,  two, 
or  three  years,  are  fitted  out  from  St.  Louis, 
or  some  commercial  point,  consisting  of  com- 


CHARACTER,   PURSUITS,  ETC.  133 

panics,  who  ascend  the  rivers  to  the  regions 
of  fur.  The  hunters  and  trappers  receive  a 
proportion  of  the  profits  of  the  expedition. 
Some  become  so  enamored  with  this  wander- 
ing and  exposed  life,  as  to  lose  all  desire  of 
returning  to  the  abodes  of  civilization,  and 
remain  for  the  rest  of  their  lives  in  the  Amer- 
ican deserts.  There  are  individuals,  who  are 
graduates  of  colleges,  and  who  once  stood 
high  in  the  circles  of  refinement  and  taste, 
that  have  passed  more  than  twenty  years 
amongst  the  roaming  tribes  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  or  on  the  western  slope,  till  they 
have  apparently  lost  all  feelings  towards  civil- 
ized life.  They  have  afforded  an  interesting 
but  melancholy  example  of  the  tendencies  of 
human  nature  towards  the  degraded  state  of 
savages.  The  improvement  of  the  species  is 
a  slow  and  laborious  process; — the  deteriora- 
tion is  rapid,  and  requires  only  to  be  divested 
of  restraint,  and  left  to  its  own  unaided  .ten- 
dencies. Many  others  have  returned  to  the 
habits  of  civilization,  and  some  with  fortunes 
made  from  the  woods  and  prairies. 

Boatmen.  These  are  the  fresh-water  sailors 
of  the  West,  with  much  of  the  light-hearted, 
reckless  character  of  the  sons  of  the  ocean,  in- 
cluding peculiar  shades  of  their  own.  Before 
the  introduction  of  steam-boats  on  the  western 
waters,  its  immense  commerce  was  carried  on 
by  means  of  keel-boats  and  barges.  The  for- 
mer is  much  in  the  shape  of  a  canal-boat, 
long,  slim-built,  sharp  at  each  end,  and  pro- 


134  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

pelled  by  setting-poles,  and  the  cordelle  or 
long  rope.  The  barge  is  longer,  and  has  a 
bow  and  stern.  Both  are  calculated  to  as- 
cend streams,  but  by  a  very  slow  process. 
Each  boat  would  require  from  ten  to  thirty 
hands,  according  to  its  size.  A  number  of 
these  boats  frequently  sailed  in  company. 
The  boatmen  were  proverbially  lawless,  at 
every  town  and  landing,  and  indulged  with- 
out restraint  in  every  species  of  dissipation, 
debauchery  and  excess.  But  this  race  has 
become  reformed,  or  nearly  extinct ; — yes, 
reformed,  by  the  mighty  power  of  steam.  A 
steam-boat,  with  half  the  crew  of  a  barge  or 
keel,  will  carry  ten  times  the  burden,  and 
perform  six  or  eight  trips  in  the  time  it  took 
a  keel-boat  to  make  one  voyage.  Thousands 
of  flat  boats,  or  "  broad  horns,"  as  they  are 
called,  pass  down  the  rivers,  with  the  produce 
of  the  country,  which  are  managed  by  the 
farmers  of  the  West,  but  never  return  up 
stream.  They  are  sold  for  lumber,  and  the 
owners,  after  disposing  of  the  cargo,  return 
by  steam.  The  number  of  boatmen  on  the 
western  waters  is  not  only  greatly  reduced, 
but  those  that  remain  are  fast  losing  their 
original  character. 


CHAPTER   V. 


PUBLIC  LANDS. 

System  of  Surveys — Meridian  and  Base  Lines — Town- 
ships— Diagram  of  a  Township,  surveyed  into  Sections 
— Land  Districts  and  Offices — Preemption  Rights — 
Military  Bounty  Lands — Taxes — Valuable  Tracts  of 
Country  unsettled. 

IN  all  the  new  States  and  Territories,  the 
lands  which  are  owned  by  the  general  gov- 
ernment, are  surveyed  and  sold  under  one 
general  system.  Several  offices,  each  under 
the  direction  of  a  surveyor-general,  have  been 
established  by  acts  of  Congress,  and  districts, 
embracing  one  or  more  States,  assigned  them. 
The  office  for  the  surveys  of  all  public  lands 
in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan  and  the  Wiscon- 
sin country,  is  located  at  Cincinnati.  The 
one  including  the  States  of  Illinois,  Missouri 
and  Arkansas,  is  at  St.  Louis.  Deputy-sur- 
veyors are  employed  to  do  the  work  at  a  stip- 
ulated rate  per  mile,  generally  from  three  to 
four  dollars,  who  employ  chain-bearers,  an 
axe  and  flag  man,  and  a  camp-keeper.  They 
are  exposed  to  great  fatigue  and  hardships, 


136  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

spending  two  or  three    months   at  a  time  in 
the  woods  and  prairies,  with  slight,  movable    • 
camps  for  shelter. 

In  the  surveys,  meridian  lines  are  first  es-    J 
tablished,  running   north  from  the   mouth  of 
some  noted  river :  these  are  intersected  with 
base  lines. 

There  are  five  principal  meridians  in  the 
land-surveys  in  the  West. 

The  first  principal  meridian  is  a  line  due 
north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Miami. 

The  second  principal  meridian  is  a  line  due 
north  from  the  mouth  of  Little  Blue  river,  in 
Indiana. 

The  third  principal  meridian  is  a  line  due 
north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio. 

The  fourth  principal  meridian  is  a  line  due 
north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois. 

The  fifth  principal  meridian  is  a  line  due 
north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas. 
Another  meridian  is  used  for  Michigan,  whic 
passes  through  the  central  part  of  the  State 
Its  base  line  extends  from  about  the  middle 
lake  St.  Clair,  across  the  State,  west,  to  lake 
Michigan.  Each  of  these  meridians  has  its 
own  base  line. 

The  surveys  connected  with  the  third  and 
fourth  meridians,  and  a  small  portion  of  the 
second,  embrace  the  State  of  Illinois. 

The  base  line  for  both  the  second  and  third 
principal  meridians  commences  at  Diamond 
Island,  in  Ohio,  opposite  Indiana,  and  runs 
due  west,  till  it  strikes  the  Mississsippi,  a  few 
miles  below  St.  Louis. 


PUBLIC    LANDS.  137 

All  the  townships  in  Illinois,  south  and  east 
of  the  Illinois  river,  are  numbered  from  this 
base  line,  either  north  or  south. 

The  third  principal  meridian  terminates 
with  the  northern  boundary  of  the  State. 

The  fourth  principal  meridian  commences 
in  the  centre  of  the  channel,  and  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Illinois  river,  but  immediately  crosses 
to  the  east  shore,  and  passes  up  on  that  side 
(and  at  one  place  nearly  fourteen  miles  dis- 
tant), to  a  point  in  the  channel  of  the  river, 
seventy -two  miles  from  its  mouth.  Here  its 
base  line  commences,  and  extends  across  the 
peninsula  to  the  Mississippi,  a  short  distance 
above  Quincy.  The  fourth  principal  meridian 
is  continued  northward  through  the  military 
tract,  and  across  Rock  river,  to  a  curve  in 
the  Mississippi,  at  the  upper  rapids,  in  town- 
ship eighteen  north,  and  about  twelve  or  fif- 
teen miles  above  Rock  island.  It  here  crosses 
and  passes  up  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  fifty-three  miles,  and  recrosses  into  Il- 
linois, and  passes  through  the  town  of  Galena, 
to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  State.  It  is 
thence  continued  to  the  Wisconsin  river,  and 
made  the  principal  meridian  for  the  surveys 
of  the  Territory,  while  the  northern  boundary 
line  of  the  State  is  constituted  its  base  line  for 
that  region. 

Having  formed  a  principal  meridian,  with 
its  corresponding  base  line,  for  a  district  of 
country,  the  next  operation  of  the  surveyor  is 
to  divide  this  into  tracts  of  six  miles  square, 
called  townships. 
7 


138 

In  numbering  the  townships  east  or  west 
from  a  principal  meridian,  they  are  called 
ranges,  meaning  a  range  of  townships;  but  in 
numbering  north  or  south  from  a  base  line, 
they  are  called  townships.  Thus  a  tract  of 
land  is  said  to  be  situated  in  township  four 
north,  in  range  three  east,  from  the  third 
principal  meridian;  or  as  the  case  may  be. 

Townships  are  subdivided  into  square  miles, 
or  tracts  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  each, 
called  sections.  If  near  timber,  trees  are 
marked  and  numbered  with  the  section,  town- 
ship and  range,  near  -each  sectional  corner. 
If  in  a  large  prairie,  a  mound  is  raised  to  de- 
signate the  corner,  and  a  billet  of  charred 
wood  buried,  if  no  rock  is  near.  Sections  are 
divided  into  halves,  by  a  line  north  and  south, 
and  into  quarters,  by  a  transverse  line.  In 
sales  under  certain  conditions,  quarters  are 
sold  in  equal  subdivisions  of  forty  acres  each, 
at  $1  25  per  acre.  Any  person,  whether  a 
native-born  citizen,  or  a  foreigner,  may  pur- 
chase forty  acres  of  the  richest  soil,  and  re- 
ceive, an  indisputable  title,  for  fifty  dollars. 

Ranges  are  townships,  counted  either  east 
or  west  from  meridians. 

Townships  are  counted  either  north  or  south 
from  their  respective  base  lines. 

Fractions  are  parts  of  quarter  sections  in- 
tersected by  streams,  or  confirmed  claims. 

The  parts  of  townships,  sections,  quarters, 
Stc.,  made  at  the  lines  of  either  townships  or 
meridians,  are  called  excesses  or  defciences. 

Sections,  or  square   miles,   are  numbered, 


PUBLIC    LANDS. 


139 


beginning  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
township,  progressively  west,  to  the  range 
line,  and  then  progressively  east,  to  the 
range  line,  alternately,  terminating  at  the 
south-east  corner  of  the  township,  from  one 
to  thirty-six,  as  in  the  following  diagram: 


6 

7 

5 
8 
17 
20 

4 

3 

10 
15 

22 

2 
11 

1 
12 
13 
24 

9 

16* 
21 

28 

18 
19 
30 

14 

23 
26 
35 

29 
32 

27 

25 

31 

33 

34 

36 

I  have  been  thus  particular  in  this  account 
of  the  surveys  of  public  lands,  to  exhibit  the 
simplicity  of  a  system,  that,  to  strangers,  un- 
acquainted with  the  method  of  numbering  the 
sections,  and  the  various  subdivisions,  appears 
perplexing  and  confused. 

All  the  lands  of  Congress,  owned  in  Ohio, 
have  been  surveyed,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  some  Indian  reservations,  have  been 
brought  into  market.  In  Indiana,  all  the 
lands  purchased  of  the  Indians  have  been 
surveyed,  and,  with  the  exception  of  about 
ninety  townships  and  fractional  townships, 
have  been  offered  for  sale.  These,  amount- 
ing to  about  two  millions  of  acres,  will  be 

*  Appropriated  for  schools  in  the  township. 


140  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

offered  for  sale  the  present  year.  In  Michi- 
gan, nearly  all  the  ceded  lands  have  been 
surveyed  and  brought  into  market.  The  un- 
surveyed  portion  is  situated  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Saginau  bay;  a  part  of  which  may  be 
ready  for  market  within  the  current  year. 

In  Wisconsin  Territory,  west  of  lake  Mich- 
igan, all  the  lands  in  the  Wisconsin  district, 
which  lie  between  the  State  of  Illinois  and 
the  Wisconsin  river,  have  been  surveyed ; 
and,  in  addition  to  the  lands  already  offered  for 
sale  in  the  Green  Bay  district,  about  sjxty- 
five  townships  and  fractional  townships  have 
been  surveyed,  and  are  ready  for  market. 
The  surveys  of  the  whole  country  west  of 
lake  Michigan,  and  south  of  the  Wisconsin 
river,  in  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  Territory, 
will  soon  be  surveyed  and  in  market.  Here 
are  many  millions  of  the  finest  lands  on  earth, 
lying  along  the  Des  Plaines,  Fox  and  Rock 
rivers,  and  their  tributaries,  well  watered, 
rich  soil,  a  healthy  atmosphere,  and  facilities 
to  market.  A  temporary  scarcity  of  timber 
in  some  parts  of  this  region  will  retard  settle- 
ments, for  a  time;  but  this  difficulty  will  be 
obviated,  by  the  rapidity  with  which  prairie 
land  turns  to  a  timbered  region,  wherever, 
by  contiguous  settlements,  the  wild  grass  be- 
comes subdued,  and  by  the  discovery  of  coal- 
beds.  Much  of  it  is  a  mineral  region.  In 
Illinois,  the  surveys  are  now  completed  in  the 
Danville  district,  and  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  Chicago  district.  They  are  nearly  com- 
pleted along  Rock  river  and  the  Mississippi. 


PUBLIC    LANDS.  141 

The  unsurveyed  portion  is  along  Fox  river, 
Des  Plaines,  and  the  shore  of  lake  Michigan, 
in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  State.  Emi- 
grants, however,  do  not  wait  for  surveys  and 
sales.  They  are  settling  over  this  fine  por- 
tion of  the  State,  in  anticipation  of  purchases. 
In  Missouri,  besides  the  former  surveys,  the 
exterior  lines  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
townships,  and  the  subdivision  into  sections  and 
quarters,  of  thirty  townships,  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  State,  and  contracts  for  running 
the  exterior  lines  of  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine  townships,  on  the  waters  of  the  Osage 
and  Grand  rivers,  have  been  made.  A  large 
portion  of  this  State  is  now  surveyed,  and  in 
market.  Surveys  are  progressing  in  Arkan- 
sas, and  large  bodies  of  land  are  proclaimed  for 
sale,  in  that  district. 

I  have  no  data  before  me  that  will  enable 
me  to  show,  definitely,  the  amount  of  public 
lands  now  remaining  unsold,  in  each  land- 
office  district.  In  another  place,  I  have  al- 
ready given  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of 
public  lands,  within  the  organized  States  and 
Territories,  remaining  unsold,  compared  with 
the  amount  sold  in  past  years. 

The  following  tables  exhibit  the  number  of 
acres  sold  in  the  districts  embraced  more  im- 
mediately within  the  range  of  this  Guide,  for 
1834,  and  the  three  first  quarters  of  1835, 
with  the  name  of  each  district  in  each  State. 
It  is  constructed  from  the  report  of  the  com- 
missioner of  the  General  Land  OfRce  to  the 
Treasury  Department,  December  5th,  1835. 


142 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


The  sales  of  the  last  quarter  of  1835,  in  Illi- 
nois, and  probably  in  the  other  States,  great- 
ly exceeded  either  of  the  other  quarters,  and 
which  will  be  exhibited  in  the  annual  report 
of  the  commissioner,  in  December,  1836. 

Statement  of  the  amount  of  Public  Lands  sold 
at  the  several  Land-Offices  in  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Missouri  and 
Arkansas,  in  1834. 


District  Land  Acres  and 

Offices.  hundredth.**. 

OHIO. 


Marietta, 1 1, 999.52 QuinCy'  \    3e'l3L59 


Zanesville,  . 
Steubenvillc, 
Chilicothe,  . 
Cincinnati,  . 
Wooster,  .  . 


33,877.23 

4,349.19 

21,309.32 

27,369.52 

9,448.77 


Wapaghkonetta,  125,417.13 
Bucyrus,   .....  245,078.56 


District  Land 
Offices. 

Danville, 


Acres  and 

hundredth*. 

62,331.38 


Total  for  State,  354,013.47 

MICHIGAN. 
Detroit,  ......   136,410.69 

Monroe,  .....  233,768.30 


128,244.47 


Pra- 
Bronson 


Total  for  State,  4784^24 
INDIANA. 


Mineral  Point,  .  .  .  14,336.67 


Jeffersonville,  .  .   67,826.11 
Vincennes,  ....    56,765.80 
Indianapolis,  .  .  .  204,526.63 
Crawfordsville,  .161,477.87 
Fort  Wayne,  .  .  .   96,350.30 
La  Porte,  86,709.73 
Total  for  State,  673,65*6744 

MISSOURI. 
St.  Louis,.  ....  .43,634.68 

Fayette,  71,049.74 
Palmyra,  76,241.35 

Jackson,  18,882.11 
Lexington,  43,983.80 
Total  for  State,  2537791.70 

ILLINOIS. 


ARKANSAS. 


Shawneetown,  .  6,904.24  Batesville,.  .. 
Kaskaskia,  ....  15,196.52  Little  Rock>  •  • 
Edwardsville,  .  .  124,302.1 9! WasnmSton"  • 
Vandalia, 20,207.6 1 1 Fayetteville, .  . 


Palestine, 22,135.69 


Springfield, 


66,804.25 


Helena, 


.  8 
.25 
.65 
.24 
.26 


,051.31 
,799.74 

,145.88 
,514.94 
,244.59 


Total  for  Ter.,  149,756.46 


PUBLIC    LANDS. 


143 


Statement  of  the  amount  of  Public  Lands  sold 
at  the  several  Land-Offices  in  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Missouri  and 
Arkansas,  from  Jan.  1st,  to  Sept.  30th,  1835, 
including  nine  months. 

District  Land  Acres  and   (District  Land  Acres  and 

Offices.  hundredths.        Offices.  hundredth*. 

OHIO.  Galena, t262,l  52.73 

Marietta, 11,012.98  Chicago, 333,405.40 

Zanesville,  ....    42,978.36  Total  for  State,  1,220,838.76 


Steubenville,  .  .  .  3,649.29 

Chilicoihe, 12,586.87 

Cincinnati,  ....  20,105.76 

Wooster, 5,157.68 

Wapaghkonet-  )  M 

ta  and  Lima,  $ 
Bucyrus, 154,706.63 


INDIANA. 

Jeffersonville,  .  .   44,634.81 
Vincennes,  .  .  . 
Indianapolis,  . 
Crawfordsville, 
Fort  Wayne,  .  . 
La  Porte,  .... 


MICHIGAN. 

Detroit, 213,763.57 

Bronson, 400,722.48 

Monroe, ....  .   446,631.61 

Total, 


1,061,127.66 

WISCONSIN. 

Total  for  State,  353,217.80  Mineral  Point,  .  .  .67,052.55 
Green  Bay,  ....  68,365.53 

Total  for  Ter.,  135,418.08 
MISSOURI. 

32,914.57 
55,839.58 


.    70,903.62 

.158,786.68  St.  Louis,.  .  .  . 

.108,055.22  Fayette, 

.148,864.28|Palmyra, 101,018.00 

.  227,702.35  Jackson, 28,995.19 


Kaskaskia,  ____    13,814.38 


ARKANSAS. 


,  ____        ,. 

Edwardsville,   .  .  123,638.07lBntesvi1'e'  .....    2,021.22 

Vandalia,  .....    16,253.46  I^tle  Rock,  .  .  .  .22,291.92 

Palestine,  .  .        .    14,088.01  Washington,  .  .  .  .43,360.81 

Springfield,  .    .  .316,966.70  Fayetteville,  ....    8,723.72 

Danville,   .....    9^491  .35  Helena»  ......  312,169.09 

Quincy,  ......  *40,274.5S    Total  for  State,  388,566.76 

*  Returns  only  to  May  31.  f  Returns  only  to  July  31. 

fjince  those  periods,  the  sales  at  these  offices  have  been  immense. 


144 


The  reader  will  perceive  that  the  sales  of 
the  first  three  quarters  of  1835  almost 
doubled  those  of  the  whole  year  of  1834.  The 
inquiry  was  often  made  of  the  writer,  while 
traveling  in  the  Atlantic  States  in  the  summer 
of  1835,  whether  there  was  still  opportunity 
for  emigrants  to  purchase  public  lands  in  In- 
diana, Illinois,  &c.,  where  land-offices  had 
been  opened  for  the  sale  of  lands  many  years. 
He  found,  almost  every  where,  wrong  notions 
prevailing.  The  people  were  not  aware  of 
the  immense  extent  of  the  public  domain  now 
in  market,  and  ready  to  be  sold  at  one  dollar 
and  twenty-fire  cents  per  acre,  and  even  in  as 
small  tracts  as  forty  acres.  Take,  for  exam- 
ple, the  Edwardsville  district,  in  which  the 
writer  resides.  It  extends  south  to  the  base 
line,  east  to  the  third  principal  meridian, 
north  to  the  line  that  separates  townships  13 
and  14  north,  and  west  to  the  Illinois  and 
Mississippi  rivers,  and  embraces  all  the 
counties  of  Madison,  Clinton,  Bond,  Mont- 
gomery, Macoupen,  and  Greene,  a  tier  of 
townships  on  the  south  side  of  Morgan  and 
Sangamon,  five  and  a  half  townships  from 
Fayette,  and  about  half  of  St.  Clair  county. 
The  lands  for  a  part  of  this  district  have  been 
in  market  for  eighteen  or  twenty  years.  It 
contains  some  of  the  oldest  American  settle- 
ments in  the  State,  and  has  also  a  number  of 
confirmed  claims  never  offered  for  sale.  And 
yet  the  receiver  of  this  office  informed  me,  in 
November  last,  that  he  had  just  made  returns 


PUBLIC    LANDS.  145 

of  all  the  lands  sold  in  this  district,  and  they 
amounted  to  just  one  third  of  the  whole  quan- 
tity. Every  man,  therefore,  may  take  it  for 
granted  that  there  will  he  land  enough  in 
market  in  all  the  new  States,  for  his  use, 
during  the  present  generation.  These  are 
facts  that  should  be  known  to  all  classes. 
The  mania  of  land  speculation  and  of  monop- 
olists would  soon  subside,  were  those  concern- 
ed to  sit  down  coolly,  and,  after  ascertaining 
the  amount  of  public  lands  now  in  market, 
with  the  vast  additional  quantity  that  must  soon 
come  into  market,  use  a  few  figures  in  com- 
mon arithmetic,  with  the  probable  amount  of 
emigration,  and  ascertain  the  probable  extent 
of  the  demand  for  this  article  at  any  future 
period. 

The  following  information  is  necessary  for 
those  who  are  not  acquainted  with  our  land 
system. 

In  each  land-office  there  are  a  register  and 
receiver,  appointed  by  the  president  and  sen- 
ate for  the  term  of  four  years,  and  paid  by 
the  government. 

After  being  surveyed,  the  land,  by  procla- 
mation of  the  president,  is  offered  for  sale  at 
public  auction  by  half  quarter  sections,  or 
tracts  of  eighty  acres.  If  no  one  bids  for  it  at 
one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre,  or 
more,  it  is  subject  to  private  entry  at  any 
time  after,  upon  payment  of  $1  25  cents  per 
acre  at  the  time  of  entry.  JVb  credit,  in  any 
case,  is  allowed. 


146  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

In  many  cases,  Congress,  by  special  stat- 
ute, has  granted  to  actual  settlers,  preemp- 
tion rights,  where  settlements  and  improve- 
ments have  been  made  on  public  lands  pre- 
vious to  public  sale. 

Preemption  rights  confer  the  privilege  only 
of  purchasing  the  tract  containing  improve- 
ments at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per 
acre,  by  the  possessor,  without  the  risk  of  a 
public  sale. 

In  Illinois)  and  several  other  Western 
States,  all  lands  purchased  of  the  general 
government,  are  exempted  from  taxation  for 
five  years  after  purchase. 

Military  Bounty  Lands.  These  lands  were 
surveyed  and  appropriated  as  bounties  to  the 
soldiers  in  the  war  with  Great  Britain  in 
1812 — '15,  to  encourage  enlistments.  The 
selections  were  made  in  Illinois,  Missouri, 
arid  Arkansas.  The  bounty  lands  of  Illinois 
lie  between  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  rivers, 
in  the  counties  of  Calhoun,  Pike,  Adams, 
Schuyler,  Macdonough,  Warren,  Mercer, 
Knox,  Henry,  Fulton,  Peoria,  and  Putman. 
Out  of  5,000,000  of  acres,  3,500,000  were 
selected,  including  about  three  fifths  of  this 
tract.  The  remainder  is  disposed  of  in  the 
manner  of  other  public  lands.  The  disposi- 
tion of  this  fine  country  for  military  bounties 
has  much  retarded  its  settlement.  It  was  a 
short-sighted  and  mistaken  policy  of  govern- 
ment that  dictated  this  measure.  Most  of  the 
titles  have  long  since  departed  from  the 


PUBLIC    LANDS.  147 

soldiers  for  whose  benefit  the  donations  were 
made.  Many  thousand  quarter  sections  have 
been  sold  for  taxes  by  the  State,  have  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  monopolists,  and  are  now 
past  redemption.  The  bounty  lands  in  Mis- 
souri lie  on  the  waters  of  Chariton  and 
Grand  rivers,  north  side  of  the  Missouri  river, 
and  in  the  counties  of  Chariton,  Randolph, 
Carrol],  and  Ray,  and  include  half  a  million 
of  acres.  The  tract  is  generally  fertile, 
undulating,  a  mixture  of  timber  and  prairie, 
but  not  as  well  watered  as  desirable.  With 
the  bounty  lands  of  Arkansas  I  am  not  well 
acquainted.  Their  general  character  is  good, 
and  some  tracts  are  rich  cotton  lands. 

Taxes.  Lands  bought  of  the  United  States 
government  are  exempted  from  taxation  for  five 
years  after  sale.  All  other  lands  owned  by 
non-residents,  equally  with  those  of  residents, 
are  subject  to  taxation  annually,  either  for 
state,  or  county  purposes,  or  both.  The 
mode  and  amount  varies  in  each  State.  If  not 
paid  when  due,  costs  are  added,  the  lands 
sold,  subject  to  redemption  within  a  limited 
period, — generally  two  years.  Every  non- 
resident landholder  should  employ  an  agent 
within  the  State  where  his  land  lies,  to  look 
after  it,  and  pay  his  taxes,  if  he  would  not 
suffer  the  loss  of  his  land. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


ABORIGINES. 

Conjecture  respecting  their  former  Numbers  and  Condition 
— Present  Number  and  State — Indian  Territory  appro- 
priated as  their  permanent  Residence — Plan  and  Opera- 
tions of  the  United  States  Government — Missionary  Ef- 
forts and  Stations — Monuments  and  Antiquities. 

THE  idea  is  entertained,  that  the  Valley  of 
the  Mississippi  was  once  densely  populated  by 
aborigines, — that  here  were  extensive  nations, 
— that  the  bones  of  many  millions  lie  moulder- 
ing under  our  feet.  It  has  become  a  common 
theory,  that,  previous  to  the  settlement  of  the 
country  by  people  of  European  descent,  there 
were  two  successive  races  of  men,  quite  dis- 
tinct from  each  other; — that  the  first  race,  by 
some  singular  fatality,  became  exterminated, 
leaving  no  traditionary  account  of  their  exist- 
ence; and  the  second  race,  the  ancestors  of 
the  existing  race  of  Indians,  are  supposed  to 
have  been  once  far  more  numerous  than  the 
present  white  population  of  the  Valley. 

Some  parts  of  Mexico  and  South  America 


ABORIGINES.  149 

were  found  to  be  populous  upon  the  first  visits 
of  the  Spaniards,  but  I  do  not  find  satisfactory 
evidence  that  the  population  was  ever  dense 
in  any  part  of  the  territory  that  now  constitutes 
our  Republic.  Mr.  Atwater  supposes,  from 
the  mounds  in  Ohio,  the  Indian  population  far 
exceeded  seven  hundred  thousand,  at  one  time, 
in  that  district.  Mr.  Flint  says,  "If  we  can 
infer  nothing  else  from  the  mounds,  we  can 
clearly  infer,  that  this  country  once  had  its 
millions."  Hence,  a  principal  argument  as- 
signed for  the  populousness  of  this  country  is, 
the  millions  buried  in  these  tumuli,  the  bones 
of  which,  in  a  tolerable  state  of  preservation, 
are  supposed  to  be  exhibited  upon  excavation. 
The  writer  has  witnessed  the  opening  of  many 
of  these  mounds,  and  has  seen  the  fragments 
of  an  occasional  skeleton,  found  near  the  sur- 
face. Without  stopping  here  to  enter  upon  a 
disquisition  on  the  hypothesis  assumed, — that 
these  mounds,  as  they  are  termed,  are  as  much 
the  results  of  natural  causes,  as  any  other 
prominences  on  the  surface  of  the  globe, — I 
will  only  remark,  that  it  is  a  fact  well  known 
to  frontier  men,  that  the  Indians  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  burying  their  dead  in  these  ridges 
and  hillocks,  and  that,  in  our  light,  spongy  soil, 
the  skeleton  decays  surprisingly  fast.  This  is 
not  the  place  to  exhibit  the  necessary  data,  that 
have  led  to  the  conviction,  that  not  a  human 
skeleton  now  exists  in  all  the  Western  Valley 
(excepting  in  nitrous  caves),  that  was  deposi- 
ted in  the  earth  before  the  discovery  of  the 
new  world  by  Columbus. 


150 


The  opinion,  that  this  Valley  was  once 
densely  populous,  is  sustained,  from  the  sup- 
posed military  works,  distributed  through  the 
West.  This  subject,  as  well  as  that  of  mounds, 
wants  reexamination.  Probably,  half  a  dozen 
enclosures,  in  a  rude  form,  might  have  been 
used  for  military  defence.  The  capabilities  of 
the  country  to  sustain  a  dense  population,  has 
been  used  to  support  the  position,  that  it  must 
have  been  once  densely  populated.  This  ar- 
gues nothing  without  vestiges  of  agriculture 
and  the  arts.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  small 
patches  round  the  Indian  villages,  for  corn  and 
pulse,  the  whole  land  was  an  unbroken  wilder- 
ness. Strangers  to  the  subject  have  imagined 
that  our  western  prairies  must  once  have  been 
subdued  by  the  hand  of  cultivation,  because 
denuded  of  timber.  Those  who  have  long 
lived  on  them,  have  the  evidences  of  observa- 
tion and  their  senses  to  guide  them.  They 
know,  that  the  earth  will  not  produce  timber 
while  the  surface  is  covered  with  a  firm  grassy 
sward,  and  that  timber  will  spring  up,  as  soon 
as  this  obstruction  is  removed. 

To  all  these  theories,  of  the  former  density 
of  the  aboriginal  population  of  the  Valley,  I 
oppose,  first,  the  fact  that  but  a  scattered  and 
erratic  population  was  found  here,  on  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Europeans;  that  the  people  were 
rude  savages,  subsisting  chiefly  by  hunting, 
and  that  no  savage  people  ever  became  popu- 
lous; that,  from  time  immemorial,  the  differ- 
ent tribes  had  been  continually  at  war  with 


ABORIGINES.  151 

each  other;  that,  but  a  few  years  before  the 
French  explored  it,  the  Iroquois,  or  Five  Na- 
tions, conquered  all  the  country  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi, which  they  could  not  have  done  had 
it  been  populous ;  and  that  Kentucky,  one  of  the 
finest  portions  of  the  Valley,  was  not  inhabited 
by  any  people,  but  was  the  common  hunting 
and  fighting  grounds  of  both  the  northern  and 
southern  Indians,  and  hence  called  by  them 
Kentuckee,  or  the  "bloody  ground."* 

That  the  Indian  character  has  deteriorated, 
and  the  numbers  of  each  tribe  greatly  lessened 
by  contact  with  Europeans  and  their  descend- 
ants, is  not  questioned;  but  many  of  the  de- 
scriptions of  the  comforts  and  happiness  of 
savage  life  and  manners,  before  their  country 
was  possessed  by  the  latter,  are  the  exagger- 
ated and  glowing  descriptions  of  poetic  fancy. 
Evidence  enough  can  be  had  to  show  that  they 
were  degraded  and  wretched,  engaged  in  pet- 
ty exterminating  wars  with  each  other,  often- 
times in  a  state  of  starvation,  and  leading  a 
roving,  indolent,  and  miserable  existence. 
Their  government  was  anarchy.  Properly 
speaking,  civil  government  had  never  existed 
amongst  them.  They  had  no  executive,  or 

*  See  Pownal's  Administration  of  the  British  Colonies; 
Colden's  History  of  the  Five  Nations;  New  York  Histori- 
cal Collections,  vol.11;  Charlevoix  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle 
France;  Hon.  De  Witt  Clinton's  Discourse  before  the  New 
York  Historical  Society,  1811;  Discovery  of  the  Mississip- 
pi river,  by  Father  Lewis  Hennepin;  M.  Tonti's  Account 
of  M.  De  La  Salle's  Expedition;  La  Harpe's  Journal,  &c. 


152  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

judiciary  power,  and  their  legislation  was  the 
result  of  their  councils,  held  by  aged  and  ex- 
perienced men.  It  had  no  stronger  claim  upon 
the  obedience  of  the  people  than  advice. 

In  Mexico,  civilization  had  made  progress, 
and  there  were  populous  towns  and  cities, 
and  edifices  for  religious  and  other  purposes. 
With  the  exception  of  some  very  rude  struc- 
tures, the  ruins  of  which  yet  remain,  and 
which,  upon  too  slight  grounds,  have  been 
mistaken  for  military  works,  nothing  is  left  as 
marks  of  the  enterprise  of  the  feeble  bands 
of  Indians  of  this  Valley.  Their  implements, 
utensils,  weapons  of  war,  and  water-craft, 
were  of  the  most  rude  and  simple  construction, 
and  yet  prepared  with  great  labor.  Those 
who  have  written  upon  Indian  manners,  with- 
out personal  and  long  acquaintance  with  their 
circumstances,  have  made  extravagant  blun- 
ders. The  historian  of  America,  Dr.  Robert- 
son, seems  to  suppose  that  the  Indians  cut 
down  large  trees  and  dug  out  canoes,  with 
stone  hatchets;  and  that  they  cleared  the 
timber  from  their  small  fields,  by  the  same 
tedious  process.  Their  stone  axes  or  hatch- 
ets were  never  used  for  cutting,  but  only  for 
splitting  and  pounding.  They  burned  down 
and  hollowed  out  trees,  by  fire,  for  canoes; 
and  never  chopped  off  the  timber,  but  only 
deadened  it,  in  clearing  land.  The  condition 
of  depraved  man,  unimproved  by  habits  of 
civilization,  and  unblest  with  the  influences 
and  consolations  of  the  gospel,  is  pitiable  in 


ABORIGINES.  153 

the  extreme.  Such  was  the  character  and 
condition  of  the  "  red  skin,"  before  his  land 
was  visited  by  the  "palefaces."  I  have  often 
seen  the  aboriginal  man  in  all  his  primeval 
wildness,  when  he  first  came  in  contact  with 
the  evils  and  benefits  of  civilization, — have 
admired  his  noble  form  and  lofty  bearing, — 
listened  to  his  untutored  and  yet  powerful 
eloquence,  and  yet  have  found  in  him  the 
same  humbling  and  melancholy  proofs  of  his 
wretchedness  and  want,  as  is  found  in  the 
remnants  on  our  borders. 

The  introduction  of  ardent  spirits,  and  of 
several  diseases,  are  the  evils  furnished  the 
Indian  race,  by  contact  with  the  whites,  while 
in  other  respects  their  condition  has  been  im- 
proved. 

From  the  second  number  of  the  Annual 
Register  of  Indian  Affairs,  within  the  Indian 
(or  Western)  Territory,  just  published  by  the 
Rev.  Isaac  McCoy,  the  following  particulars 
have  been  chiefly  gleaned. 

Mr.  McCoy  has  been  devoted  to  the  work 
of  Indian  reform  for  almost  twenty  years;  first 
in  Indiana,  then  in  Michigan,  and  latterly  in 
the  Indian  Territory,  west  of  Missouri  and 
Arkansas.  He  is  not  only  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  peculiar  circumstances  of 
this  unfortunate  race,  and  with  the  country 
selected  as  their  future  residence  by  the  gov- 
ernment, but  is  ardently  and  laboriously  en- 
gaged for  their  welfare. 


154  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

INDIAN    TERRITORY. 

The  Indian  Territory  lies  west,  and  imme- 
diately adjacent  to  Missouri  and  Arkansas. 
It  is  about  six  hundred  miles  long,  from  north 
to  south,  extending  from  the  Missouri  river  to 
the  Red  river,  and  running  westwardly  as  far 
as  the  country  is  hahitable,  which  is  estimated 
to  be  about  two  hundred  miles.  The  almost 
destitution  of  timber,  with  extensive  deserts- 
renders  most  of  the  country,  from  this  Terri- 
tory to  the  Rocky  mountains,  uninhabitable. 
The  dreams  indulged  by  many,  that  the  wave 
of  white  population  is  to  move  onward,  without 
any  resisting  barrier,  till  it  reaches  these 
mountains,  and  even  overleap  them,  to  the 
Pacific  ocean,  will  never  be  realized.  Provi- 
dence has  thrown  a  desert  of  several  hundred 
miles  in  extent,  as  an  opposing  barrier. 

As  very  contradictory  accounts  have  gone 
abroad,  prejudicial  to  the  character  of  the 
country  selected  for  the  Indians,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  describe  it  with  some  particu- 
larity. The  following,  from  Mr.  McCoy  (if 
it  needed  any  additional  support  to  its  cor- 
rectness), is  corroborated  by  the  statements 
of  many  disinterested  persons. 

"There  is  a  striking  similarity  between  all 
parts  of  this  Territory.  In  its  general  char- 
acter, it  is  high  and  undulating,  rather  level 
than  hilly;  though  small  portions  partly  de- 
serve the  latter  appellation.  The  soil  is  gen- 


ABORIGINES.  155 

erally  very  fertile.  It  is  thought  that  in  no 
part  of  the  world,  so  extensive  a  region  of 
rich  soil  has  been  discovered,  as  in  this,  of 
which  the  Indian  Territory  is  a  central  posi- 
tion. It  is  watered  by  numerous  rivers,  creeks 
and  rivulets.  Its  waters  pass  through  it  east- 
wardly,  none  of  which  are  favorable  to  navi- 
gation. There  is  less  marshy  and  stagnant 
water  in  it  than  is  usual  in  the  western  coun- 
try. The  atmosphere  is  salubrious,  and  the 
climate  precisely  such  as  is  desirable,  being 
about  the  same  as  that  inhabited  by  the 
Indians  on  the  east  of  the  Mississippi.  It 
contains  much  mineral  coal  and  salt  water, 
some  lead,  and  some  iron  ore.  Timber  is 
scarce,  and  this  is  a  serious  defect,  but  one 
which  time  will  remedy,  as  has  been  demon- 
strated by  the  growth  of  timber  in  prairie 
countries  which  have  been  settled,  where  the 
grazing  of  stock,  by  diminishing  the  quantity 
of  grass,  renders  the  annual  fires  less  de- 
structive to  the  growth  of  wood.  The  prairie 
(i.  e.,  land  destitute  of  wood)  is  covered  with 
grass,  much  of  which  is  of  suitable  length  for 
the  scythe." 

The  Chodaws,  Creeks,  Cherokees,  Osages, 
Kausaus,  and  Delawares,  are  entitled  to 
lands  westward  of  this  Territory,  for  hunting- 
grounds;  some  to  the  western  boundary  of 
the  United  States,  others  to  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains. 

Mr.  McCoy  estimates  the  number  of  inhabi- 
tants of  this  Territory  at  47,733,  viz.: 


156 


Indigenous  Tribes. 

Osage,    about 5,510 

Kausau,     "      1,684 

Ottoe  and  Missourias, 1,600 

O'Mahaus, 1,400 

Pawnees,  (four  tribes), 10,000 

Puncahs,  about 800 

Quapaws,  "      450 


21,444 

Emigrant  Tribes. 

Choctaw,  about 15,000 

Cherokee,    «     4,000 

Creek,          "     .- 3,600 

Seneca,  Shawanoe  of  Neosho, .  .  462 

Wea,  about 225 

Piankeshau,    119 

Peoria  and  Kaskaskias, 135 

Ottawa, 81 

Shawanoe,  of  Kausau  river, 764 

Delaware, 856 

Kickapoo,. 603 

Putawatomie,  .  444 


Emigrants, 26,289 

Indigenous, 21,444 


Total,  47,733 

The  estimate  of  the  Choctaws  includes 
about  four  hundred  negro  slaves;  that  of  the 
Cherokees,  five  hundred;  and  that  of  the 
Creeks  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  slaves. 

Choctaws.  Their  country  adjoins  Red  river 
and  the  Province  of  Texas,  on  the  south,  Ar- 
kansas on  the  east,  and  extends  north  to  the 
Arkansas  and  Canadian  rivers;  being  one  him- 


ABORIGINES.  157 

dred  and  fifty  miles  from  north  to  south,  and 
two  hundred  miles  from  east  to  west.  Here 
are  numerous  salt  springs.  For  civil  purposes, 
their  country  is  divided  into  three  districts. 

Cherokees.  The  boundaries  of  their  country 
commences  on  the  Arkansas  river,  opposite 
the  western  boundary  of  Arkansas;  thence 
northwardly  along  the  line  of  Missouri,  eight 
miles  to  Seneca  river;  thence  west  to  the  Ne- 
osho  river;  thence  up  said  river  to  the  Osage 
lands;  thence  west  indefinitely,  as  far  as  hab- 
itable; thence  south  to  the  Creek  lands,  and 
along  the  eastern  line  of  the  Creeks  to  a  point 
forty-three  miles  west  of  Arkansas,  and  twen- 
ty-five miles  north  of  Arkansas  river;  thence 
to  the  Verdigris  river,  and  down  Arkansas 
river,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Neosho;  thence 
southwardly  to  the  junction  of  the  North  Fork 
and  Canadian  rivers;  and  thence  down  the 
Canadian  and  Arkansas  rivers  to  the  place  of 
beginning.  The  treaty  of  1828  secures  to 
this  tribe  7,000,000  of  acres,  and  adds  land 
westward,  for  hunting-grounds,  as  far  as  the 
United  States  boundaries  extend. 

The  CretJcs  or  Muscogees,  occupy  the  coun- 
try west  of  Arkansas,  that  lies  between  the 
lands  of  the  Choctaws  and  Cherokees. 

The  Senecas  join  the  State  of  Missouri  on 
the  east,  with  the  Cherokees  south,  the  Neo- 
sho river  west,  and  possess  127,500  acres. 

The  Osage  (a  French  corruption  of  Wos- 
sosh-e  their  proper  name)  have  their  country 
north  of  the  western  portion  of  the  Cherokee 


158 


lands,  commencing  twenty-five  miles  west  of 
the  State  of  Missouri,  with  a  width  of  fifty 
miles,  and  extending  indefinitely  west.  About 
half  the  tribe  are  in  the  Cherokee  country. 

The  Quapaws  were  originally  connected 
with  the  Osages.  They  have  migrated  from 
the  Lower  Arkansas,  and  have  their  lands 
adjoining  the  State  of  Missouri,  immediately 
north  of  the  Senecas.  --i,- 

The  Putawatomies  are  on  the  north-eastern 
side  of  the  Missouri  river,  but  they  are  not 
satisfied,  and  the  question  of  their  locality  is 
not  fully  settled.  Fourhundred  and  forty-four 
Putawatomies  are  mingled  with  the  Kickapoos, 
on  the  south-west  side  of  the  Missouri  river. 

The  Weas,  Piankeshaus,  Peorias  and  Kas- 
kaskias  are  remnants  of  the  great  western 
confederacy,  of  which  the  Miamies  were  the 
most  prominent  branch.  These  and  other 
tribes,  constituted  the  Illini,  Oillinois,  or  Illi- 
nois nation,  that  once  possessed  the  country 
now  included  in  the  great  States  of  Indiana, 
Illinois,  &,c.  Their  lands  lie  west  of  the  State 
of  Missouri,  and  south-west  of  the  Missouri 
river. 

The  Delawares  occupy  a  portion  of  the 
country  in  the  forks  of  the  Kausau  (or,  as  writ- 
ten by  the  French,  Kausas)  river.  They  are 
the  remnants  of  another  great  confederacy,  the 
Lenni-Lenopi,  as  denominated  by  themselves. 

The  lands  of  the  Kickapoos  lie  north  of  the 
Delawares,  and  along  the  Missouri,  including 
768,000  acres. 


ABORIGINES.  159 

The  Ottoes  occupy  a  tract  of  country  be- 
tween the  Missouri  and  Platte  rivers,  but 
their  land  is  said  to  extend  south  and  below 
the  Platte. 

The  country  of  the  O'Mahaus  has  the  Platte 
river  on  the  south,  and  the  Missouri  north-east. 

The  country  of  the  Pawnees  lies  to  the  west- 
ward of  the  Ottoes  and  O'Mahaus.  The  boun- 
daries are  not  defined. 

The  Puncahs  are  a  small  tribe  that  origina- 
ted from  the  Pawnees,  and  live  in  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  country  spoken  of  as  the  In- 
dian Territory. 

Present  Condition.  The  Choctaws,  Chero- 
kees  and  Creeks  are  more  advanced  in  civil- 
ized habits  than  any  other  tribes.  They  have 
organized  local  governments  of  their  own, 
have  enacted  some  wholesome  laws,  live  in 
comfortable  houses,  raise  horses,  cattle,  sheep 
and  swine,  cultivate  the  ground,  have  good 
fences,  dress  like  Americans,  and  manufac- 
ture much  of  their  own  clothing.  They  have 
schools  and  religious  privileges,  by  missionary 
efforts,  to  a  limited  extent.  The  Cherokees 
have  a  written  language,  perfect  in  its  form, 
the  invention  of  Mr.  Guess,  a  full-blooded  In- 
dian. The  Senecas,  Delawares,  and  Shawa- 
noes,  also,  are  partially  civilized,  and  live  with 
considerable  comfort  from  the  produce  of  their 
fields  and  stock.  The  Putawatomies,  Weas, 
Piankeshaus,  Peorias,  Kaskaskias,  Ottawas, 
and  Kickapoos,  have  partially  adopted  civil- 
ized customs.  Some  live  in  comfortable  log 


160  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

cabins,  fence  and  cultivate  the  ground,  and 
have  a  supply  of  stock:  others  live  in  bark 
huts,  and  are  wretched.  The  Osages,  or 
Wos-sosh-es,  Quapaws,  Kausaus,  Ottoes,  O'- 
Mahaus,  Pavrnees  and  Puncahs  have  made 
much  less  improvement  in  their  mode  of  living. 
A  few  have  adopted  civilized  habits,  and  are 
rising  in  the  scale  of  social  and  individual  com- 
forts, but  the  larger  portion  are  yet  Indians. 

Mr.  McCoy  estimates  the  whole  number  of 
aborigines  in  North  America,  including  those 
of  Mexico,  at  1,800,000;  of  which,  10,000  are 
so  far  improved  as  to  be  classed  with  civilized 
men,  and  amongst  whom  there  are  as  many 
pious  Christians,  as  amongst  the  same  amount 
of  population  in  the  United  States.  In  addi- 
tion to  these,  he  estimates  that  there  may  be 
about  60,000  more,  "which  may  have  made 
advances  toward  civilization,  some  more  and 
some  less." 

For  some  years  past,  the  policy  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  has  been  direct- 
ed to  the  project  of  removing  all  the  Indians 
from  the  country  organized  into  States  and 
Territories,  and  placing,  them  sufficiently  con- 
tiguous to  be  easily  governed,  and  yet  remov- 
ed from  direct  contact  and  future  interruption 
from  the  white  population.  This  project  was 
recommended  in  the  period  of  Mr.  Monroe's 
administration;  was  further  considered,  and 
some  progress  made,  under  that  of  Mr.  Adams; 
but  has  been  carried  into  more  successful  ex- 
ecution within  the  last  five  years.  It  is  much 


PUBLIC    LANDS.  161 

to  be  regretted  that  this  project  was  not  com- 
menced earlier.  The  residence  of  small  bands 
of  Indians,  with  their  own  feeble  and  imperfect 
government,  carried  on  within  any  organized 
State  or  Territory,  is  ruinous.  Those  who 
argue  that  because  of  the  removal  of  the  In- 
dians from  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  States, 
or  an  organized  Territory,  therefore  they  will 
be  driven  back  from  the  country  in  which  it  is 
now  proposed  to  place  them,  evince  but  a  very 
partial  and  imperfect  view  of  the  subject.  The 
present  operation  of  government  is  an  experi- 
ment; and  it  is  one  that  ought  to  receive  a  fair 
and  full  trial.  If  it  does  not  succeed,  I  know 
not  of  any  governmental  regulation  that  can 
result,  with  success,  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
Indians.  The  project  is  to  secure  to  each 
tribe,  by  patent,  the  lands  allotted  them;  to 
form  them  into  a  territorial  government,  with 
some  features  of  the  representative  principle; 
to  have  their  whole  country  tuider  the  super- 
vision of  our  government,  as  their  guardian, 
for  their  benefit;  to  allow  no  white  men  to 
pass  the  lines  and  intermix  with  the  Indians, 
except  those  who  are  licensed  by  due  authori- 
ty; to  aid  them  in  adopting  civilized  habits, 
provide  for  them  schools  and  other  means  of 
improving  their  condition,  and,  through  the 
agency  of  missionary  societies,  to  instruct 
them  in  the  principles  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
Missionary  Efforts  and  Stations.  These  are 
conducted  by  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions;  the  Baptist 
8 


162 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions;  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Missionary  Society;  the  Western 
Foreign  Missionary  Society;  and  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians.  Stations  have  been 
formed,  and  schools  established,  with  most  of 
these  tribes.  About  2500  are  members  of 
Christian  churches,  of  different  denomina- 
tions. The  particulars  of  these  operations 
are  to  be  found  in  the  reports  of  the  respect- 
ive societies,  and  the  various  religious  pe- 
riodicals. 

Of  other  tribes  within  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  not  yet  within  the  Indian 
Territory,  the  following  estimate  is  sufficient- 
ly near  the  truth  for  practical  purposes: — 

Indians  from  New  York,  about  Green  Bay, .  .  .725 

Wyandots,  in  Ohio  and  Michigan, 623 

Miamies, 1,200 

Winnebagoes, 4,591 

Chippeways,  or  O'Jibbeways, 6,793 

Otiawas  and  Chippeways,  of  lake  Michigan, .  .  5,300 

Chippeways,  Ottawas  and  Putawatomies, ....  8,000 

Putawatomies, 1,400 

Menominees, 4,200 

They  are  all  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
chiefly  found  on  the  reservations  in  Ohio,  In- 
diana and  Michigan,  and  in  the  country  be- 
tween the  Wisconsin  river  and  lake  Superior. 
Those  tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and 
along  the  region  of  the  Upper  Missouri  river, 
are  as  follows: — 

Sioux, 27,500 

loways, 1,200 

Sauks,  of  Missouri,  .  , 500 


PUBLIC    LANDS.  163 

Sauks  and  Foxes, 6,400 

Assinaboines, 8,000 

Crees, 3,000 

Gros  Venires, 3,000 

Aurekaras, 3,000 

Cheyennes, 2,000 

Mandans, 1,500 

Black  Feet, 30,000 

Camanches, 7,000 

Minatarees, 1 ,500 

Crows, 4,500 

Arrepahas  and  Kiawas, 1,400 

Caddoes, 800 

Snake,  and  other  tribes,  within  the  Rocky 

mountains, 20,000 

West  of  the  Rocky  mountains, 80,000 

The  Camanches,  Arrepahas,  Kiawas  and 
Caddoes  roam  over  the  great  plains,  toward 
the  sources  of  the  Arkansas  and  Red  rivers, 
and  through  the  northern  parts  of  Texas. 
The  Black  Feet  are  toward  the  heads  of  the 
Missouri. 

Monuments  and  Antiquities.  Before  dismiss- 
ing the  subject  of  the  aborigines,  I  shall  touch 
very  briefly  on  the  monuments  and  antiquities 
of  the  West;  with  strong  convictions  that 
there  has  been  much  exaggeration  on  this 
subject.  I  have  already  intimated  that  the 
mounds  of  the  West  are  natural  formations, 
but  I  have  not  room  for  the  circumstances 
and  facts  that  go  to  sustain  this  theory.  The 
number  of  objects  considered  as  antiquities 
is  greatly  exaggerated.  The  imaginations 
of  men  have  done  much.  The  number  of 
mounds  on  the  American  bottom,  in  Illinois, 


164  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

adjacent  to  Cahokia  creek,  is  stated  by  Mr. 
Flint  at  two  hundred.  The  writer  has  count- 
ed all  the  elevations  of  surface  for  the  extent 
of  nine  miles,  and  they  amount  to  seventy-two. 
One  of  these,  Monk  hill,  is  much  too  large, 
and  three  fourths  of  the  rest  are  quite  too 
small  for  human  labor.  The  pigmy  graves  on 
the  Merrimeek,  (Missouri,)  in  Tennessee,  and 
other  places,  upon  closer  inspection,  have 
been  found  to  contain  decayed  skeletons  of 
the  ordinary  size,  but  buried  with  the  leg  and 
thigh  bones  in  contact.  The  giant  skeletons 
sometimes  found,  are  the  bones  of  buffalo. 

It  is  much  easier  for  waggish  laborers  to  de- 
posit old  horse-shoes,  and  other  iron  articles, 
where  they  are  at  work,  for  the  special  pleas- 
ure of  digging  them  up  for  credulous  antiqua- 
rians, than  to  find  proofs  of  the  existence  of 
the  horses  that  wore  them! 

There  may,  or  may  not  be,  monuments  and 
antiquities  that  belong  to  a  race  of  men  of  prior 
existence  to  the  present  race  of  Indians.  All 
that  the  writer  urges  is,  that  this  subject  may 
not  be  considered  as  settled;  that  due  allow- 
ance may  be  made  for  the  extreme  credulity 
of  some,  and  the  want  of  personal  observation 
and  examination  of  other  writers  on  this  sub- 
ject. Gross  errors  have  been  committed,  and 
exaggerations  of  very  trivial  circumstances 
have  been  made. 

The  antiquities  belonging  to  the  Indian  race 
are  neither  numerous  or  interesting,  unless 
we  except  the  remains  of  rude  edifices  and 


PUBLIC    LANDS.  165 

enclosures,  the  walls  of  which  are  almost  in- 
variably embankments  of  earth.  They  are 
rude  axes  and  knives  of  stone,  bottles  and 
vessels  of  potter's  ware,  arrow  and  spear 
heads,  rude  ornaments,  &c. 

Roman,  French,  Italian,  German  and  Eng- 
lish coins  and  medals,  with  inscriptions,  have 
been  found;  most  unquestionably  brought  by 
Europeans;  probably  by  the  Jesuits,  and  other 
orders,  who  were  amongst  the  first  explorers 
of  the  West,  and  who  had  their  religious 
houses  here,  more  than  a  century  past. 

Copper  and  silver  ornaments  have  been  dis- 
covered in  the  mounds  that  have  been  opened. 
The  calumet,  or  large  stone  pipe,  is  often 
found  in  Indian  graves.  Three  facts  deserve 
to  be  regarded  by  those  who  examine  mounds 
and  Indian  cemeteries.  1.  That  the  Indians 
have  been  accustomed  to  bury  their  dead  in 
these  mounds.  2.  That  they  were  accustom- 
ed to  place  various  ornaments,  utensils,  wea- 
pons, and  other  articles  of  value,  the  property 
of  the  deceased,  in  these  graves,  especially  if 
a  chieftain,  or  man  of  note.  A  third  fact, 
known  to  our  frontier  people,  is  the  custom  of 
several  Indian  tribes  wrapping  their  dead  in 
strips  of  bark,  or  encasing  them  with  the 
halves  of  a  hollow  log,  and  placing  them  in 
the  forks  of  trees.  This  was  the  case  espe- 
cially when  their  deaths  occurred  while  on 
hunting  or  war  parties.  At  stated  seasons, 
these  relics  were  collected,  with  much  solem- 
nity, brought  to  the  common  sepulchre  of  the 


166  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

tribe,  and  deposited  with  their  ancestors.  This 
accounts  for  the  confused  manner  in  which  the 
bones  are  often  found  in  mounds  and  Indian 
grave-yards.  Human  skeletons,  or  rather 
mummies,  have  been  discovered  in  the  nitrous 
caves  of  Kentucky.  The  huge  bones  of  the 
mammoth  and  other  enormous  animals,  have 
been  exhumed  at  the  Bigbone  licks,  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  in  other  places, 


CHAPTER    VII. 


WESTERN    PENNSYLVANIA. 

Face  of  the  Country — Soil,  Agriculture  and  internal  Im- 
provements— Chief  Towns — Pittsburgh — Coal. 

THE  portion  of  Pennsylvania  lying  west  of 
the  Alleghany  ridge,  contains  the  counties  of 
Washington,  Greene,  Fayette,  "Westmore- 
land, Alleghany,  Beaver,  Butler,  Armstrong, 
Mercer,  Venango,  Crawford,  Erie,  Warren, 
McKean,  Jefferson,  Indiana,  Somerset,  and  a 
part  of  Cambria. 

Face  of  the  Country.  Somerset,  and  parts 
of  Fayette,  Westmoreland,  Cambria,  Indiana, 
Jefferson  and  McKean  are  mountainous,  with 
intervening  vallies  of  rich,  arable  land.  The 
hilly  portions  -of  Washington,  and  portions  of 
Fayette,  Westmoreland,  and  Alleghany  coun- 
ties are  fertile,  with  narrow  vales  of  rich  land 
intervening.  The  hills  are  of  various  shapes, 
and  heights,  and  the  ridges  are  not  uniform, 
but  pursue  various  and  different  directions. 
North  of  Pittsburgh,  the  country  is  hilly  and 


J68  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

broken,  but  not  mountainous,  and  tbe  bottom 
lands  on  the  water  courses  are  wider  and  more 
fertile.  On  French  creek,  and  other  branches 
of  the  Alleghany  river  there  are  extensive 
tracts  of  rich  bottom,  or  intervale  lands,  cov- 
ered with  beech,  birch,  sugar  maple,  pine, 
hemlock,  and  other  trees  common  to  that  por- 
tion of  the  United  States.  The  pine  forests 
in  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  about  the 
heads  of  the  Alleghany  river,  produce  vast 
quantities  of  lumber,  which  are  sent  annually 
to  all  the  towns  along  the  Ohio  and  Mississip- 
pi rivers.  It  is  computed  that  not  less  than 
thirty  million  feet  of  lumber  are  annually 
sent  down  the  Ohio  from  this  source. 

Soil,  Jlgricullure,  &>c.  Portions  of  the 
country  are  excellent  for  farming.  The  glade 
lands,  as  they  are  called,  in  Greene  and  other 
counties,  produce  oats,  grass,  &c.,  but  are 
riot  so  good  for  wheat  and  corn.  Those 
counties  which  lie  towards  lake  Erie  are  bet- 
ter adapted  to  grazing.  Great  numbers  of 
cattle  are  raised  here.  Washington  and 
other  counties  south  of  Pittsburgh  produce 
great  quantities  of  wool.  The  Monongahela 
has  been  famous  for  its  whisky,  but  it  is 
gratifying  to  learn  that  it  is  greatly  on  the 
decline,  and  that  its  manufacture  begins  to  be 
regarded  as  it  should  be, — ruinous  to  society. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  distilleries  are  re- 
ported to  have  been  abandoned.  Bituminous 
coal  abounds  in  all  the  hills  around  Pittsburgh, 
and  over  mo&t  parts  of  Western  Pennsyl- 


WESTERN    PENNSYLVANIA.  169 

vania.  Iron  ore  is  found  abundantly  in  the 
counties  along  the  Alleghany,  and  many  fur- 
naces and  forges  are  employed  in  its  manu- 
factory. Salt  springs  abound  on  the  Allegha- 
ny, and  especially  on  the  Conemaugh  and 
Kiskiminitas,  where  salt,  in  large  quantities, 
is  manufactured. 

The  natural  advantages  of  Western  Penn- 
sylvania are  great.  Almost  every  knoll,  hill 
and  mountain  can  be  turned  to  some  good  ac- 
count, and  its  rivers,  canals,  rail  and  turnpike 
roads  afford  facilities  for  intercommunication, 
and  for  transportation  of  the  productions  to  a 
foreign  market.  The  advantages  of  this  re- 
gion for  trade,  agriculture,  raising  stock,  and 
manufacturing,  are  great.  The  streams  fur- 
nish abundant  mill-seats,  the  air  is  salubrious, 
and  the  morals  of  the  community  good.  Till 
recently,  Pennsylvania  has  been  neglectful  to 
provide  for  common  schools.  A  school  sys- 
tem is  now  in  successful  operation,  and  has  a 
strong  hold  on  the  confidence  and  affections 
of  the  people  in  this  part  of  the  State. 

Internal  Improvements.  Pennsylvania  has 
undertaken  an  immense  system  of  internal 
improvements,  throughout  the  State.  The 
Alleghany  portage  rail-road  commences  at 
Hollidaysburgh,  on  the  Juniata  river,  at  the 
termination  of  the  eastern  division  of  the 
great  Pennsylvania  canal,  and  crosses  the 
Alleghany  ridge  at  Blair's  Gap,  summit  thirty- 
seven  miles,  to  Johnstown  on  the  Conemaugh. 
Here  it  connects  with  the  western  division  of 


170  PECK'S  GUIDE. 


the  same  canal.  It  ascends  and  descends  the 
mountain  by  five  inclined  planes  on  each  side, 
overcoming  in  ascent  and  descent  2570  feet, 
1398  of  which  are  on  the  eastern,  and  1172 
on  the  western  side  of  the  mountain.  Five 
hundred  and  sixty-three  feet  are  overcome 
by  grading,  and  2007  feet  by  the  planes.  On 
this  line,  also,  are  four  extensive  viaducts, 
and  a  tunnel  eight  hundred  and  seventy  feet 
long,  and  twenty  feet  wide,  through  the  sta- 
ple bend  of  the  Conemaugh  river.  The  west- 
ern division  of  the  Pennsylvania  canal  com- 
mences at  Johnstown,  on  the  Conemaugh, 
pursues  the  course  of  that  stream,  and  also 
that  of  the  Kiskiminitas  and  Alleghany  rivers, 
and  finally  terminates  at  Pittsburgh.  In  its 
course  from  Johnstown,  it  passes  through  the 
towns  of  Fairfield,  Lockport,  Blairsville, 
Saltzburg,  Warren,  Leechburg,  and  Freeport, 
most  of  which  are  small  villages,  but  increas- 
ing in  size  and  business.  "The  canal  is 
one  hundred  and  four  miles  in  length:  lockage 
four  hundred  and  seventy-one  feet,  sixty-four 
locks  (exclusive  of  four  on  a  branch  canal  to 
the  Alleghany),  ten  dams,  one  tunnel,  sixteen 
aqueducts,  sixty-four  culverts,  thirty-nine 
wasle-wiers,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
bridges. 

"  The  canal  commissioners,  in  their  reports 
to  the  legislature,  strongly  recommend  the 
extension  of  this  division  to  the  town  of 
Beaver,  so  as  to  unite  with  the  Beaver  divi- 
sion. By  a  recent  survey,  the  distance  was 


WESTERN    PENNSYLVANIA.  171 

ascertained  to  be  25.065  miles,  and  the  esti- 
mated cost  of  construction,  $263,821.  This, 
with  a  proposed  canal  from  Newcastle  to  Ak- 
ron, on  the  Ohio  and  Erie  canal,  will  form  a 
continuous  inland  communication  between 
Philadelphia  and  New  Orleans,  of  2435  miles, 
with  the  exception  of  the  passage  over  the 
Alleghany  portage  rail-road,  of  36.69  miles 
in  length.*  It  is  three  hundred  and  ninety-five 
miles  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh  by  this 
canal. 

The  Beaver  division  of  the  Pennsylvania 
canal  commences  at  the  town  of  Beaver,  on 
the  Ohio  river,  at  the  junction  of  the  Big 
Beaver  river,  twenty-five  and  a  half  miles 
below  Pittsburgh,  ascends  the  valley  of  that 
river,  thence  up  the  Chenango  creek  to  its 
termination  in  Mercer  county,  a  distance  of 
42.68  miles.  This  work,  together  with 
a  feeder  on  French  creek,  and  other  works 
now  in  progress,  are  parts  of  a  canal  intend- 
ed eventually  to  connect  the  Ohio  river  with 
lake  Erie,  at  the  town  of  Erie;  which,  when  fin- 
ished, will  probably  be  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty  miles  in  length.  It  is  also  proposed  to 
construct  a  canal  from  Newcastle,  on  the  Bea- 
ver division,  24.75  miles  above  the  town  of 
Beaver,  along  the  valley  of  the  Mahoning  riv- 
er, to  Akron,  near  the  portage  summit  of  the 

*See  "  Mitchell's  Compendium  of  the  Internal  Improve- 
ments in  the  United  States,"  where  much  valuable  infor- 
mation of  the  rail-roads  and  canals  of  the  United  States  is 
found  in  a  small  space. 


172  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Ohio  and  Erie  canal,  eighty-five  miles  in 
length,  eight  miles  of  which  are  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  the  residue  in  Ohio.  Estimated 
cost,  $764,372. 

The  Cumberland,  or  national  road,  crosses 
the  south-western  part  of  Pennsylvania.  It 
passes  through  Brownsville  where  it  crosses 
the  Monongahela  river,  and  Washington,  into 
a  corner  of  Virginia  to  Wheeling,  where  it 
crosses  the  Ohio  river,  and  from  thence 
through  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois  to  the 
Mississippi  river,  or  perhaps  to  the  western 
boundary  of  Missouri. 

Chief  Towns.  Broivnsville,  situated  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Monongahela  river,  is  in  a  ro- 
mantic country,  surrounded  with  rich  farms 
and  fine  orchards,  and  contains  about  1200 
inhabitants.  It  is  at  the  head  of  steamboat 
navigation.  Washington  is  the  county  seat  of 
Washington  county,  surrounded  with  a  fertile 
but  hilly  country,  contains  about  2000  inhab- 
itants, and  has  a  respectable  college.  Can- 
nonsburgh  is  situated  on  the  west  side  of  Char- 
tier's  creek,  eight  miles  north  of  Washington. 
It  also  has  a  flourishing  college,  with  build- 
ings, in  an  elevated  and  pleasant  situation. 
Uniontown  is  the  county  seat  of  Fayette,  on 
the  National  road,  and  contains  about  1500 
inhabitants.  Greensburg  is  the  seat  of  justice 
for  Westmoreland  county,  on  the  great 
turnpike  road  from  Philadelphia  by  Harris- 
burgh  to  Pittsburgh,  and  has  about  850 
inhabitants.  Beaver  is  situated  at  the 


WESTERN    PENNSYLVANIA.  173 

mouth  of  Big  Beaver,  on  the  Ohio,  with  a 
population  of  1000  or  1200,  and  is  a  place  of 
considerable  business.  Meadville  is  the  seat 
of  justice  for  Crawford  county,  situated  near 
French  creek,  and  has  about  1200  inhabitants. 
Here  is  a  college  established  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Alden,  some  years  since,  to  which  the 
late  Dr.  Bentley,  of  Salem,  Mass.,  bequeathed 
a  valuable  library.  It  is  now  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Erie  is  a  thriving  town,  situated  on  the 
south  side  of  lake  Erie,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  north  of  Pittsburgh.  Steam-boats 
that  pass  up  the  lake  from  Buffalo,  usually  stop 
here,  from  whence  stage  routes  communicate 
with  Pittsburgh,  and  many  other  towns  in  the 
interior.  The  portage  from  this  place  to  the 
navigable  waters  of  the  Alleghany  river  is 
fifteen  miles,  over  a  turnpike  road.  The 
population  of  Erie  is  from  1500  to  2000,  and 
increasing. 

Waterford,  the  place  where  the  Erie  por- 
tage terminates,  is  situated  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  French  creek;  it  is  a  place  of  consid- 
erable business.  French  creek  is  a  navigable 
branch  of  the  Alleghany  river.  Franklin, 
Kiltanning  and  Freeport  are  respectable 
towns  on  the  Alleghany  river,  between  Pitts- 
burgh and  Meadville.  ' 

Economy  is  the  seat  of  the  German  colony, 
under  the  late  Mr.  Rapp,  which  emigrated 
from  their  former  residence  of  Harmony,  on 
the  Wabash  river,  in  Indiana.  It  is  a  flour- 


174  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

ishing  town  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio, 
eighteen  miles  below  Pittsburgh.  It  has  sev- 
eral factories,  a  large  church,  a  spacious  hotel, 
and  eight  or  nine  hundred  inhabitants,  living 
in  a  community  form,  under  some  singular 
regulations.  The  Economists  or  Harmonists, 
as  thev  were  called,  in  Indiana,  are  an  indus- 
trious, moral  and  enterprising  community,  with 
some  peculiarities  in  their  religious  notions. 
There  are  many  other  towns  and  villages  in 
\Vestern  Pennsylvania,  of  moral,  industrious 
inhabitants,  which  the  limits  of  this  work  will 
not  permit  me  to  notice. 

PITTSBURGH  is  the  emporium  of  ^Western 
Pennsylvania,  and  from  its  manufacturing  en- 
terprise, especially  in  iron  wares,  has  been 
denominated  the  "  Birmingham  of  the  West." 
It  stands  on  the  land  formed  at  the  junction 
of  the  Monongahela  and  Alleghany  rivers,  on 
a  level  alluvion  deposit,  but  entirely  above 
the  highest  waters,  surrounded  with  hills. 
This  place  was  selected  as  the  site  of  a  fort 
and  trading  depot  by  the  French,  about  eighty 
years  since,  and  a  small  stockade  erected, 
and  called  Fort  du  Quesne,  to  defend  the 
occupancy  of  it  by  the  English,  and  to  mo- 
nopolize the  Indian  trade.  It  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  British,  upon  the  conquest 
of  this  country,  after  the  disastrous  defeat  of 
Gen.  Braddock;  and  under  the  administration 
of  the  elder  Pitt,  a  fort  was  built  here  under 
the  superintendence  of  Lord  Stanwix,  that 
cost  more  than  $260,000,  and  called  Fort 


WESTERN    PENNSYLVANIA.  175 

Pitt.  In  1760,  a  considerable  town  arose 
around  the  fort,  surrounded  with  beautiful 
gardens  and  orchards,  but  it  decayed  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Indian  war,  in  1763.  The 
origin  of  the  present  town  maybe  dated  1765. 
Its  plan  was  enlarged,  and  re-surveyed  in 
1784,  and  then  belonged  to  the  Penn  family, 
as  a  part  of  their  hereditary  manor.  By  them 
it  was  sold. 

The  Indian  wars  in  the  West,  retarded  its 
growth  for  several  years  after,  but  since,  it 
has  steadily  increased,  according  to  the  fol- 
lowing table: — 

1800, 1,565 

1810, 4,768 

1820, 7,248 

1830, 12,542 

1835,  estimated, 30,000 

The  estimate  of  1835  includes  the  suburbs. 
The  town  is  compactly  built,  and  some  streets 
are  handsome;  but  the  use  of  coal  for  culinary 
and  manufacturing  purposes,  gives  the  town  a 
most  dingy  and  gloomy  aspect.  Its  salubrity 
and  admirable  situation  for  commerce  and 
manufactures  ensure  its  future  prosperity  and 
increase  of  population.  The  exhaustless  beds 
of  coal  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Monongahela,  and 
of  iron  ore,  which  is  found  in  great  abundance 
in  all  the  mountainous  regions  of  Western 
Pennsylvania,  give  it  preeminence  over  other 
western  cities,  for  manufacturing  purposes. 
It  really  stands  at  the  head  of  steam-boat  navi- 
gation, on  the  waters  of  the  Ohio;  for  the  Al- 


176  PEAK'S  GUIDE. 

leghany  and  Monongahela  rivers  are  navigable 
only  at  high  stages  of  water,  and,  by  the  recent 
improvements  in  the  channel  of  the  Ohio  and 
the  use  of  light  draft  boats,  the  navigation  to 
Pittsburgh  is  uninterrupted,  except  in  winter. 
The  suburbs  of  Pittsburgh,  are  Birming- 
ham, on  the  south  bank  of  the  Monongahela, 
Alleghany  town,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Alleghany  river,  and  containing  a  population 
of  about  7000,  Lawrenceville,  Northern  and 
Eastern  Liberties. 

Manufactures. 

Nail  Factories  and  Rolling  Mills.  Weight.  Value. 

Union, 720,000  $43,200 

Sligo, 400,000  32,000 

Pittsburgh, 782,887  86,544 

Grant's  hill, 500,000  20,000 

Juniata, 500,000  30,000 

Pine  Creek, 457,000  34,100 

Miscellaneous  factories, 360,000  28,200 

The  foregoing  table  waa  constructed  in 
1831.  Doubtless  this  branch  of  business  has 
greatly  increased. 

The  same  year  there  were  twelve  foundries 
in  and  near  Pittsburgh,  which  converted  2963 
tons  of  metal  into  castings,  employed  132 
hands,  consumed  87,000  bushels  of  charcoal, 
and  produced  the  value  of  $189,614. 

The  following  sketch  of  manufactures  in 
Pittsburgh  and  vicinity,  is  copied  from  Tan- 
ner's Guide,  published  in  1832: — 

Steam  engines,  thirty-seven,  which  employ- 
ed 123  hands.  Value,  $180,400. 


WESTERN    PENNSYLVANIA.  177 

Cotton  factories,  eight,  with  369  power- 
looms,  598  hands;  value,  $300,134.  In  fhe 
counties  of  Westmoreland  and  Alleghany, 
there  are  five  cotton  factories. 

In  Pittsburgh  and  the  two  counties  just 
named,  are  eight  paper  mills,  valued  at 
$165,000. 

In  Pittsburgh  and  vicinity  are  five  steam 
mills,  which  employ  50  hands.  Value  of  their 
products  annually,  $80,000. 

There  are  five  brass-foundries  and  eight 
coppersmiths'  shops.  Value  of  the  manufac- 
tures, $25,000. 

Within  the  limits  of  the  city,  there  are  thirty 
blacksmiths'  shops,  which  employ  136  hands. 
There  are  also  four  gunsmiths,  and  nine  sil- 
versmiths and  watch  repairers. 

In  Pittsburgh,  and  the  counties  of  West- 
moreland and  Alleghany,  there  are  twenty-six 
saddleries  and  forty-one  tanneries,  sixty-four 
brick-yards  and  eleven  potteries.  There  are 
in  the  city,  four  breweries,  and  four  white 
lead  manufactories,  at  which  7400  kegs  arc 
made  annually;  value,  $27,900. 

There  are  six  printing  offices  in  Pittsburgh, 
and  six  more  in  the  two  counties. 

The  estimated  value  of  the  manufactures  of 
every  kind  in  Pittsburgh,  and  the  counties  of 
Alleghany  and  Westmoreland,  in  1831,  was 
$3,978,469.  Doubtless  they  have  greatly  in- 
creased since. 

Coal.      The    bituminous    coal    formations 
around  Pittsburgh,  are  well  deserving  the  at- 
8* 


178 


tention  of  geologists.  Coal  hill,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Monongahela,  and  immediately  op- 
posite Pittsburgh,  is  the  great  source  of  this 
species  of  fuel;  and  the  miners,  in  some  places, 
have  perforated  the  hill  to  the  distance  of  sev- 
eral hundred  feet.  It  is  found  in  strata  from 
six  inches  to  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  thickness, 
and  often  at  the  height  of  three  hundred  feet 
above  the  bed  of  the  river,  in  the  hills  around 
Pittsburgh,  and  along  the  course  of  the  Alle- 
ghany  and  Monongahela.  Below  this  one  stra- 
tum, which  is  of  equal  elevation,  none  is  found 
till  you  reach  the  base  of  the  hill,  below  the  bed 
of  the  river.  Besides  supplying  Pittsburgh, 
large  quantities  are  sent  down  the  river. 

There  are  in  Pittsburgh  (or  were  two  years 
since),  three  Baptist  churches,  or  congrega- 
tions, one  of  which  is  of  Welch;  four  Presby- 
terian, four  Methodist,  one  Episcopal,  one 
Roman  Catholic  (besides  a  cathedral  on 
Grant's  hill),  one  Covenanter,  one  Seceder, 
one  German  Reformed,  one  Unitarian,  one 
Associate  Reformed,  one  Lutheran,  one  Af- 
rican, and  perhaps  some  others  in  the  city 
or  suburbs. 

Of  the  public  buildings  deserving  notice,  I 
will  name  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, which  stands  on  the  Monongahela,  near 
Grant's  hill;  the  Penitentiary,  in  Alleghany 
town,  which  has  cost  the  State  an  immense 
amount,  and  is  conducted  on  the  principle  of 
solitary  confinement;  the  Presbyterian  Theo- 
logical Seminary  is  also  in  Alleghany  town; 


WESTERN    PENNSYLVANIA.  179 

the  Museum;  the  United  States  Jlrsenal,  about 
two  miles  above  the  city,  at  Lawrenceville. 
It  encloses  four  acres,  and  has  a  large  depot 
for  ordnance,  arms,  &x.  The  City  Water- 
works is  a  splendid  monument  of  municipal 
enterprise.  The  water  is  taken  from  the  Al- 
leghany  river,  by  a  pipe,  fifteen  inches  in 
diameter,  and  carried  2439  feet,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  feet  elevation,  to  a  reservoir 
on  Grant's  hill,  capable  of  receiving  1,000,000 
gallons.  The  water  is  raised  by  a  steam  en- 
gine of  eighty-four  horse  power,  and  will  raise 
1,500,000  gallons  in  twenty-four  hours.  The 
aqueduct  of  the  Pennsylvania  canal,  across  the 
Alleghany  river,  is  also  deserving  attention. 

The  inhabitants  of  Pittsburgh  are  a  mixture 
of  English,  French,  Scotch,  Irish,  German 
and  Swiss  artizans  and  mechanics,  as  well  as 
of  native  born  Americans,  who  live  together  in 
much  harmony.  Industry,  sobriety,  morality 
and  good  order  generally  prevail.  Extensive 
revivals  of  religion  prevailed  here  a  year  or 
two  since. 

The  population  of  Western  Pennsylvania  is 
characterized  for  industry,  frugality,  economy 
and  enterprise.  Temperance  principles  have 
made  considerable  progress  of  late  years. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

WESTERN  VIRGINIA. 
Sulphur,  Hot  and  Sweet  Springs — Chief  Towns. 

WESTERN  VIRGINIA  embraces  all  that  part 
of  Virginia  that  lies  upon  the  western  waters. 
The  counties  are  Brooke,  Ohio,  Monongalia, 
Harrison,  Randolph,  Russell,  Preston,  Tyler, 
Wood,  Greenbrier,  Kenawha,*  Mason,  Lewis, 
Nicholas,  Logan,  Cabell,  Monroe,  Pocahon- 
tas,  Giles,  Montgomery,  Wythe,  Grayson, 
Tazewell,  Washington,  Scott,  and  Lee, — 26. 

Its  principal  river  is  the  Kenawha  and  its 
tributaries.  Of  these,  Gaula,  New  river  and 
Greenbrier  are  the  principal.  New  river  is 
the  largest,  and  rises  in  North  Carolina.  The 
Monongahela  drains  a  large  district;  the  little 
Kenawha,  Guyandotte  and  Sandy  are  smaller 
streams.  The  latter  separates  Virginia  from 
Kentucky,  for  some  distance. 

Much  of  Western  Virginia  is  mountainous, 

*  I  have  adopted  the  orthography  of  the  legislature. 


WESTERN    VIRGINIA.  181 

lying  in  parallel  ridges,  which  are  often  brok- 
en by  streams.  Some  of  the  vallies  are  very 
fertile.  The  Kenawha  valley  is  narrow,  but 
extends  to  a  great  distance.  The  salt-manu- 
factories extend  from  Charlestown,  up  the 
Kenawha,  the  distance  of  twelve  miles.  They 
are  twenty  in  number,  and  manufacture  nearly 
two  millions  of  bushels  annually.  The  river 
is  navigable  for  steam-boats  to  this  point,  at 
an  ordinary  depth  of  water.  Coal  is  used  in 
the  manufactories,  which  is  dug  from  the  ad- 
jacent mountains,  and  brought  to  the  works 
on  wooden  rail-ways.  Seven  miles  above 
Charlestown  is  the  famous  burning  spring. 
Inflammable  gas  escapes,  which,  if  ignited, 
will  burn  with  great  brilliancy  for  many  hours, 
and  even  for  several  days,  in  a  favorable  state 
of  the  atmosphere.  The  State  of  Virginia  has 
constructed  a  tolerably  good  turnpike  road 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Guyandotte,  on  the 
Ohio,  to  Staunton.  It  passes  through  Charles- 
town,  and  along  the  Kenawha  river  to  the 
falls;  from  thence  it  extends  along  the  course 
of  New  river,  and  across  Sewall's  mountain, 
by  Louisburg,  to  Staunton.  The  falls  of 
Kenawha  are  in  a  romantic  region,  and  merit 
the  attention  of  the  traveler.  Marshall's  pillar 
is  a  singular  projecting  rock,  that  overhangs 
New  river,  1015  feet  above  its  bed.  The 
stage  road  passes  near  its  summit. 

This  route  is  one  of  the  great  stage  routes 
leading  from  the  Ohio  valley  to  Washington 
city,  and  to  all  parts  of  old  Virginia. 


182  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

The  White  Sulphur,  Red  Sulphur,  Hot, 
Warm,  and  Siveet  Springs  are  in  the  moun- 
tainous parts  of  Virginia,  and  on  this  route. 
These  are  all  celebrated  as  watering-places, 
but  the  White  Sulphur  spring  is  the  great  re- 
sort of  the  fashionable  of  the  Southern  States. 
Let  the  reader  imagine  an  extensive  camp- 
ground, a  mile  in  circumference,  the  camps 
neat  cottages,  built  of  brick,  or  framed,  and 
neatly  painted.  In  the  centre  of  this  area  are 
the  springs,  bath-houses,  dining-hall,  and 
mansion  of  the  proprietor.  The  cottages  are 
intended  for  the  accommodation  of  families, 
and  contain  two  rooms  each.  This  is  by  far  the 
most  extensive  watering-place  in  the  Union. 
Of  the  effect  of  such  establishments  on  morals 
I  shall  say  nothing.  The  reader  will  draw  his 
own  conclusions,  whe-n  he  understands  that 
the  card-table,  roulette,  wheel  of  fortune  and 
dice-box  are  amongst  its  principal  amuse- 
ments. Here,  not  unfrequently,  cotton  bales, 
negroes,  and  even  plantations,  change  owners 
in  a  night.  The  scenery  around  is  highly 
picturesque  and  romantic.  Declivities  and 
mountains,  sprinkled  over  with  evergreens, 
are  scattered  in  wild  confusion.  A  few  miles 
from  White  Sulphur  springs,  you  pass  the  di- 
viding line, — the  Alleghany  ridge, — and  pass 
from  Western  into  Middle  Virginia. 

Chief  Towns.  Wheeling  is  the  principal 
commercial  town,  and  a  great  thoroughfare, 
in  Western  Virginia.  It  has  a  large  number 
of  stores  and  commission  ware-houses;  and 


WESTERN    VIRGINIA.  183 

contains  six  or  eight  thousand  inhabitants.  It 
is  ninety-two  miles  by  water,  and  fifty-five 
miles  by  land,  from  Pittsburgh.  It  has  manu- 
factures of  cotton,  glass  and  earthen  ware: 
boats  are  built  here.  The  Cumberland  or 
national  road  crosses  the  Ohio  at  this  place, 
over  which  a  bridge  is  about  to  be  erected. 
The  town  is  surrounded  with  bold,  precipitous 
hills,  which  contain  inexhaustible  quantities 
of  coal.  At  extreme  low  water  steam-boats 
ascend  no  higher  than  Wheeling. 

Charlestown,  Wellsburgh,  Parkersburgh, 
Point  Pleasant,  Clarksburgh,  Abington,  Lou- 
isburg,  and  many  others,  are  pleasant  and 
thriving  towns. 

The  climate  of  Western  Virginia  is  pre- 
eminently salubrious.  The  people,  in  their 
manners,  have  considerable  resemblance  to 
those  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  There  are 
fewer  slaves,  less  wealth,  more  industry  and 
equality,  than  in  the  "old  dominion,"  as 
Eastern  Virginia  is  sometimes  called. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


MICHIGAN. 

Extent — Situation — Boundaries — Face  of   the  Country — 
Rivers,  Lakes,  &c.— Soil  and  Productions— Subdivisions, 

Counties — Chief  Towns — Education Improvements 

projected — Boundary   Dispute — Outline  of  the  Consti- 
tution. 

MICHIGAN  is  a  large  triangular  peninsula, 
surrounded  on  the  east,  north  and  west,  by 
lakes,  and  on  the  south  by  the  States  of  Ohio 
and  Indiana.  Lake  Erie,  Detroit  river,  lake 
St.  Clair  and  St.  Clair  river,  lie  on  the  east 
for  140  miles;  lake  Huron  on  the  north-east 
and  north,  the  straits  of  Mackinaw  on  the  ex- 
treme north-west,  and  lake  Michigan  on  its 
western  side.  Its  area  is  about  40,000  square 
miles. 

Face  of  the  Country,  Its  general  surface  is 
level,  having  no  mountains,  and  no  very  ele- 
vated hills.  Still,  much  of  its  surface  is  un- 
dulating, like  the  swelling  of  the  ocean. 
Along  the  shore  of  lake  Huron,  in  some 
places,  are  high,  precipitous  bluffs,  and  along 


MICHIGAN. 


185 


the  eastern  shore  of  Michigan  are  hills  of 
pure  sand,  blown  up  by  the  winds  from  the 
lake.  Much  of  the  country  bordering  on 
lakes  Erie,  Huron,  and  St.  Clair,  is  level, — 
somewhat  deficient  in  good  water,  and  for  the 
most  part  heavily  timbered.  The  interior  is 
more  undulating,  in  some  places  rather  hilly, 
with  much  fine  timber,  interspersed  with  oak 
"openings,"  "plains,"  and  "prairies." 

The  plains  are  usually  timbered,  destitute 
of  undergrowth,  and  are  beautiful.  The  soil 
is  rather  gravelly.  The  openings  contain 
scattering  timber  in  groves  and  patches,  and 
resemble  those  tracts  called  barrens  farther 
south.  There  is  generally  timber  enough  for 
farming  purposes,  if  useci  with  economy,  while 
it  costs  but  little  labor  to  clear  the  land.  For 
the  first  ploughing,  a  strong  team  of  four  or 
five  yoke  of  oxen  is  required,  as  is  the  case 
with  prairie. 

The  openings  produce  good  wheat. 

The  prairies,  will  be  described  more  par- 
ticularly under  the  head  of  Illinois.  In 
Michigan,  they  are  divided  into  wet  and  dry. 
The  latter  possess  a  rich  soil,  from  one  to 
four  feet  deep,  and  produce  abundantly  all 
kinds  of  crops  common  to  42  degrees  of  north 
latitude,  especially  those  on  St.  Joseph  river. 
The  former  afford  early  pasturage  for  emi- 
grants, hay  to  winter  their  stock,  and,  with  a 
little  labor,  would  be  converted  into  excellent 
artificial  meadows.  Much  of  the  land  that 
now  appears  wet  and  marshy,  will,  in  time,  be 
9 


PECK'S  GUIDE. 


drained,  and  be  the  first  rate  soil  for  farm- 
ing. 

A  few  miles  back  of  Detroit  is  a  flat,  wet 
country,  for  considerable  extent,  much  of  it 
heavily  timbered, — the  streams  muddy  and 
sluggish, — some  wet  prairies, — with  dry, 
sandy  ridges  intervening.  The  timber  consists 
of  all  the  varieties  found  in  the  Western 
States;  such  as  oaks  of  various  species,  wal- 
nut, hickory,  maple,  poplar,  ash,  beech,  8cc., 
with  an  intermixture  of  white  and  yellow 
pine. 

Rivers  and  Lakes.  In  general,  the  country 
abounds  with  rivers  and  small  streams.  They 
rise  in  the  interior,  and  flow  in  every  direc- 
tion to  the  lakes  which  surround  it.  The 
northern  tributaries  of  the  Maumee  rise  in 
Michigan,  though  the  main  stream  is  in  Ohio, 
and  it  enters  the  west  end  of  lake  Erie  on  the 
"debatable  land."  Proceeding  up  the  lake, 
Raisin  and  then  Huron  occur.  Both  are  nav- 
igable streams,  and  their  head  waters  inter- 
lock with  Grand  river,  or  Washtenong,  which 
flows  into  lake  Michigan.  River  Rouge  enters 
Detroit  river,  a  few  miles  below  the  city  of 
Detroit.  Raisin  rises  in  the  county  of  Lena- 
wee,  and  passes  through  Monroe.  Huron 
originates  amongst  the  lakes  of  Livingston, 
passes  through  Washtenaw,  and  a  corner  of 
Wayne,  and  enters  lake  Erie  towards  its 
north-western  corner.  Above  Detroit  is  river 
Clinton,  which  heads  in  Oakland  county,  pass- 
es through  Macomb,  and  enters  lake  St. 


MICHIGAN.  187 

Clair.  Passing  by  several  smaller  streams, 
as  Belle,  Pine,  and  Black  rivers  which  fall  in- 
to St.  Clair  river,  and  going  over  an  immense 
tract  of  swampy,  wet  country,  between  lake 
Huron  and  Saginaw  bay,  in  Sanilac  county, 
we  come  to  the  Saginaw  river.  This  stream, 
is  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Tittibawassee, 
Hare,  Shiawassee,  Flint,  and  Cass  rivers,  all 
of  which  unite  in  the  centre  of  Saginaw  coun- 
ty, and  form  the  Saginaw  river,  which  runs 
north,  and  enters  the  bay  of  the  same  name. 
The  Tittibawassee  rises  in  the  country  west 
of  Saginaw  bay,  runs  first  a  south,  and  then 
a  south-eastern  course,  through  Midland  coun- 
ty into  Saginaw  county,  to  its  junction.  Pine 
river  is  a  branch  of  this  stream,  that  heads  in 
the  western  part  of  Gratiot  county,  and  runs 
north-east  into  Midland.  Hare,  the  original 
name  of  which  is  Waposebee,  commences  in 
Gratiot  and  the  north-west  corner  of  Shia- 
wassee counties,  and  runs  an  east  and  north- 
east course.  The  heads  of  the  Shiawassee, 
which  is  the  main  fork  of  the  Saginaw,  are 
found  in  the  counties  of  Livingston  and  Oak- 
land. Its  course  is  northward.  Flint  river 
rises  in  the  south  part  of  Lapeer  county,  and 
runs  a  north-western  course  some  distance 
past  the  centre  of  the  county,  when  it  sudden- 
ly wheels  to  the  south,  then  to  the  west,  and 
enters  Genesee  county,  through  which  it 
pursues  a  devious  course  towards  its  destina- 
tion. Cass  river  rises  in  Sanilac  county,  and 
runs  a  western  course.  These  rivers  are 
formed  of  innumerable  branches,  and  water 
an  extensive  district  of  country.  Other  small- 


188 

er  streams  enter  lake  Huron,  above  Saginaw 
bay;  but  the  whole  country  across,  to  lake 
Michigan  is  yet  a  wilderness,  and  recently 
purchased  of  the  Indians.  Doubtless  it  will 
soon  be  surveyed  and  settled.  On  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  State  are  Traverse,  Ottawa, 
Betsey,  Manistic,  Pent,  White,  Maskegon, 
Grand,  Kekalamazoo,  and  St.  Joseph,  all  of 
which  fall  into  lake  Michigan.  Those  above 
Grand  river  are  beyond  the  settled  portion  of 
the  State.  Grand  river  is  the  largest  in 
Michigan,  being  270  miles  in  length,  its  wind- 
ings included.  Its  head  waters  interlock  with 
the  Pine,  Hare,  Shiawassee,  Huron,  Raisin, 
St.  Joseph  and  Kekalamazoo.  A  canal  pro- 
ject is  already  in  agitation  to  connect  it  with 
the  Huron,  and  open  a  water  communication 
from  lake  Erie,  across  -the  peninsula,  direct 
to  lake  Michigan.  Grand  river  is  now  navi- 
gable for  batteaux,  240  miles,  and  receives  in 
its  course,  Portage,  Red  Cedar,  Looking- 
glass,  Maple,  Muscota,  Flat,  Thorn-Apple, 
and  Rouge  rivers,  besides  smaller  streams. 
It  enters  lake  Michigan  245  miles  south-west- 
erly from  Mackinaw,  and  75  north  of  St.  Jo- 
seph;—  is  between  fifty  and  sixty  rods  wide 
at  its  mouth,  with  eight  feet  water  over  its  bar. 
Much  of  the  land  on  Grand  river  and  its  trib- 
utaries, is  excellent,  consisting  of  six  or  seven 
thousand  square  miles; — and,  considering  its 
central  position  in  the  State, — the  general  fer- 
tility of  its  soil, — the  good  harbor  at  its 
mouth, — the  numerous  mill  sites  on  its 
tributaties, — this  region  may  be  regarded 


MICHIGAN.  189 

as  one  of  the  most  interesting  portions  of 
Michigan.  The  Kekalamazoo  rises  in  Jackson 
and  Eaton  counties,  passes  through  Calhoun 
and  the  northern  part  of  Kalamazoo,  enters 
the  south-eastern  part  of  Allegan,  and  passes 
diagonally  through  it  to  the  lake.  There  is 
much  first-rate  land,  timber,  prairie  and 
openings  on  its  waters,  and  is  rapidly 
settling. 

The  St.  Joseph  country  is  represented  by 
some  as  the  best  country  in  Michigan.  This 
stream  has  several  heads  in  Branch,  Hillsdale, 
Jackson,  Calhoun,  and  Kalamazoo  counties, 
which  unite  in  St.  Joseph  county,  through 
which  it  passes  diagonally  to  the  south-west, 
into  Indiana, — thence  through  a  corner  of 
Elkhart  county,  into  St.  Joseph  of  that  State, 
makes  the  "South  Bend,"  and  then  runs 
north-westerly  into  Michigan,  through  Berrian 
county,  to  the  lake.  The  town  of  St.  Joseph 
is  at  its  mouth.  It  has  Pigeon,  Prairie,  Hog, 
Portage  Christianna,  Dowagiake,  and  Crook- 
ed rivers  for  tributaries,  all  of  which  afford 
good  mill  sites.  In  Cass  and  St.  Joseph 
counties,  are  Four-mile,  Beardsley,  Town- 
send,  McKenny,  LaGrange,  Pokagon,  Young, 
Sturges,  Nottawa-Sepee,  and  White  Pigeon 
prairies,  which  are  rich  tracts  of  country,  and 
fast  filling  up  with  inhabitants. 

Michigan  abounds  with  small  lakes  and 
ponds.  Some  have  marshy  and  unhealthy 
borders;  others  are  transparent  fountains, 
surrounded  with  beautiful  groves,  an  undula- 
ting country,  pebbly  and  sandy  shores,  and 


190  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

teeming  with  excellent  fish.  The  counties  of 
Oakland,  Livingston,  Washtenaw,  Jackson, 
Barry  and  Kalamazoo  are  indented  with  them. 

Productions.  These  are  the  same,  in  gen- 
eral, as  those  of  Ohio  and  New  York.  Corn 
and  wheat  grow  luxuriantly  here;  rye,  oats, 
barley,  buckwheat,  potatoes  and  all  the  gar- 
den vegetables  common  to  the  climate,  grow 
well;  all  the  species  of  grasses  are  produced 
luxuriantly;  apples,  and  other  fruit,  abound 
in  the  older  settlements,  especially  among  the 
French  about  Detroit.  It  will  be  a  great  fruit 
country. 

Subdivisions.  Michigan  had  been  divided 
into  thirty-three  counties  in  1835,  some  of 
which  were  attached  to  adjacent  counties  for 
judicial  purposes.  Other  counties  may  have 
been  formed  since.  The  following  organized 
counties  show  the  population  of  the  State 
(then  Territory),  at  the  close  of  1834: 

Counties.               Population.  Seats  of  Justice.          Detroit"1 

Berrian,    ......      1,787     Berrian,    180 

Branch, 764     Branch,    133 

Calhoun, 1,714     Eckford, 100 

Cass, 3,280     Cassopolis, 160 

Jackson, 1,865     Jacksonburgh, 77 

Kalamazoo,  ....      3,124     Bronson, 137 

Lenawee, 7,911     Tecumseh, 63 

Macomb, 6,055  Mount  Clemens,  .  .      25 

Monroe, 8,542     Monroe, 36 

Oakland, 13,844     Pontiac, 26 

St.  Clair, 2,244     St.  Clair, 60 

St.  Joseph,  ....      3,168  White  Pigeon, ....  135 

Washtenaw,    .  .  .    14,920     Ann  Arbor, 42 

Wayne, 16,638     Detroit, 

Total,       "85^856 


MICHIGAN.  191 

The  other  counties  are  Hillsdale,  Van  Bu- 
ren,  Allegan,  Barry,  Eaton,  Ingham,  Living- 
ston, Lapeer,  Genesee,  Shiawassee,  Clinton, 
Ionia,  Kent,  Ottawa,  Oceana,  Gratiot,  Isabel- 
la, Midland,  Saginaw,  Sanilac,  Gladwin  and 
Arenac,  the  population  of  which  are  included 
in  the  counties  given  in  the  table.  Doubtless, 
the  population  of  Michigan  exceeds  one  hun- 
dred thousand. 

The  counties  are  subdivided  into  incorpo- 
rated townships,  for  local  purposes,  the  lines 
of  which  usually  correspond  with  the  land 
surveys. 

For  the  sales  of  public  lands,  the  State  is 
divided  into  three  land  districts,  and  land-of- 
fices are  established  at  Detroit,  Monroe,  and 
Bronson. 

Chief  Towns.  Detroit  is  the  commercial 
and  political  metropolis.  It  is  beautifully  sit- 
uated on  the  west  side  of  the  river  Detroit, 
eighteen  miles  above  Maiden,  in  Canada,  and 
eight  miles  below  the  outlet  of  lake  St.  Clair. 
A  narrow  street,  on  which  the  wharves  arc 
built,  runs  parallel  with  the  river.  After 
ascending  the  bench  or  bluff,  is  a  street  call- 
ed Jefferson  avenue,  on  which  the  principal 
buildings  are  erected.  The  older  dwellings 
are  of  wood,  but  many  have  been  recently 
built  of  brick,  with  basements  of  stone,  the 
latter  material  being  brought  from  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  The  primitive  forest  approaches  near 
the  town:  the  table  land  extends  twelve  or 
fifteen  miles  interior,  when  it  becomes  wet 


192  FECK'S  GUIDE. 

and  marshy.  Along  Detroit  river  the  ancient 
French  settlements  extend  several  miles,  and 
the  inhabitants  exhibit  all  the  peculiar  traits 
of  the  French  on  the  Mississippi.  Their  gar- 
dens and  orchards  are  valuable. 

The  public  buildings  of  Detroit  are  a  state- 
house,  a  council-house,  an  academy,  and  two 
or  three  banking-houses.  There  are  five 
churches  for  as  many  different  denominations, 
in  which  the  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians, 
Baptists,  Methodists  and  Roman  Catholics 
worship.  The  Catholic  congregation  is  the 
largest,  and  they  have  a  large  cathedral. 
Stores  and  commercial  warehouses  are  nu- 
merous, and  business  is  rapidly  increasing. 
Town  lots,  rents,  and  landed  property  in  the 
\icinity,  are  rising  rapidly.  Lots  have  ad- 
vanced, within  two  or.  three  years,  in  the 
business  parts  ,of  the  city,  more  than  one 
thousand  percent.  Mechanics  of  all  descrip- 
tions, and  particularly  those  in  the  building 
line,  are  much  wanted  here,  and  in  other 
towns  in  Michigan.  The  population  is  sup- 
posed to  be  about  10,000,  and  is  rapidly  in- 
creasing. This  place  commands  the  trade  of 
all  the  upper  lake  country. 

Monroe,  the  seat  of  justice  for  Monroe 
county,  is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  Raisin,  opposite  the  site  of  old  French- 
town.  Three  years  since,  it  had  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  houses,  of  which  twenty  or 
thirty  were  of  stone,  and  1600  inhabitants. 
There  were  also  two  flouring  and  several 


MICHIGAN.  193 

saw-mills,  a  woollen  factory,  an  iron  foundry, 
a  chair  factory,  &c.,  and  an  abundant  supply 
of  water  power.  The  "Bank  of  the  River 
Raisin,"  with  a  capital  of  $100,000,  is  es- 
tablished here.  The  Presbyterians,  Epis- 
copalians, Baptists,  Methodists  and  Roman 
Catholics  have  houses  of  worship  and  minis- 
ters here. 

It  was  at  this  place,  or  rather  at  French- 
town  in  its  vicinity,  that  a  horrible  massacre 
of  American  prisoners  took  place  during  the 
last  war  with  Great  Britain,  by  the  Indians 
under  Gen.  Proctor.  The  sick  and  wounded 
were  burned  alive  in  the  hospital,  or  shot  as 
they  ran  shrieking  through  the  flames!  Of 
the  seven  hundred  young  men  barbarously 
murdered  here,  many  were  students  at  law, 
young  physicians  and  merchants,  the  best 
blood  of  Kentucky. 

Mount  Clemens,  Brownstown,  Ann  Arbor, 
Pontiac,  White  Pigeon,  Tecumseh,  Jackson- 
burgh,  Niles,  St.  Joseph,  Spring  Arbor,  and 
many  others,  are  pleasant  villages,  and  will 
soon  become  populous. 

Education.  Congress  has  made  the  same 
donation  of  lands,  as  to  other  Western  States, 
and  will,  doubtless,  appropriate  the  same  per 
centage  on  the  sales  of  all  public  lands,  when 
the  State  is  admitted  into  the  Union,  as  has 
been  appropriated  in  the  other  new  States.  A 
respectable  female  academy  is  in  operation  at 
Detroit.  The  Presbyterian  denomination  are 
about  establishing  a  college  at  Ann  Arbor,  the 


194 


Methodists  a  seminary  at  Spring  Arbor,  the 
Baptists  one  in  Kalamazoo  county,  and  the 
Roman  Catholics,  it  is  said,  have  fixed  their 
post  at  Bertrand,  a  town  on  the  St.  Joseph 
river,  in  the  south-eastern  corner  of  Berrian 
county,  and  near  to  the  boundary  line  of  In- 
diana. Much  sentiment  and  feeling  exists  in 
favor  of  education  and  literary  institutions, 
among  the  people. 

Projected  Improvements.  A  survey  has  been 
made  for  a  rail-road  across  the  peninsula 
of  Detroit,  through  the  counties  of  Wayne, 
Washtenaw,  Jackson,  Calhoun,  Kalamazoo, 
Van  Buren  and  Berrian,  to  the  mouth  of  St. 
Joseph  river.  Another  project  is,  to  com- 
mence at  or  near  Toledo,  on  the  Maumee 
river,  and  pass  through  the  southern  counties 
of  Michigan,  into  Indiana,  and  terminate  at 
Michigan  city.  A  third  project  is,  to  open  a 
water  communication  from  the  navigable  wa- 
ters of  Grand  river  to  Huron  river,  and,  by 
locks  and  slack-water  navigation,  enter  lake 
Erie.  A  canal  from  the  mouth  of  Maumee 
bay  to  lake  Michigan,  has  also  been  spoken 
of  as  a  feasible  project;  or  one  from  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Raisin  to  the  St.  Joseph  would 
open  a  similar  communication.  It  has  also 
been  suggested  to  improve  the  river  Raisin 
by  locks  and  slack-water  navigation.  Doubt- 
less, not  many  years  will  elapse  before  some 
of  these  projects  will  prove  realities. 

Boundary  Dispute.  This  unpleasant  dis- 
pute between  Ohio  and  Michigan,  relates  to 


MICHIGAN.  195 

• 

a  strip  of  country  about  fifteen  miles  in  width 
at  its  eastern  and  seven  miles  at  its  western 
end,  lying  between  the  north-eastern  part  of 
Indiana  and  the  Maumee  bay.  A  portion  of 
the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal,  now  constructing 
by  Indiana,  and  which  is  dependent  for  its 
completion  on  either  Ohio  or  Michigan,  passes 
over  this  territory.  Michigan  claims  it,  by 
virtue  of  an  ordinance  of  Congress,  passed 
July  13,  1787,  organizing  the  North-  Western 
Territory,  in  which  the  boundaries  of  three 
States  were  laid  off;  "provided,  that  the 
boundaries  of  these  three  States  shall  be  sub- 
ject so  far  to  be  altered,  that,  if  Congress  shall 
hereafter  find  it  expedient,  they  shall  have 
authority  to  form  one  or  two  States  in  that 
part  of  the  said  Territory  ivhich  lies  north  of 
an  east  and  west  line  drawn  through  the  south- 
erly bend  or  extreme  of  lake  Michigan."  Ohio 
claims  it  by  possession;  and  because,  by  being 
received  into  the  Union  with  this  portion  in 
possession,  Congress  virtually  annulled  that 
part  of  the  former  ordinance  that  fixed  the 
south  bend  of  lake  Michigan  as  the  boundary 
line,  and  by  having  run  the  line  north  of  this. 

Outlines  of  the  Constitution.  A  convention 
assembled  at  Detroit,  May  11,  1835,  and 
framed  a  constitution  for  a  State  government, 
which  was  submitted  to  and  ratified  by  vote  of 
the  people,  on  th«  first  Monday  in  October. 

The  powers  of  the  government  are  divided 
into  three  distinct  departments;  the  legisla- 
tive, the  executive,  and  the  judicial. 


196  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

The  legislative  power  is  vested  in  a  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives.  The  represent- 
atives are  to  be  chosen  annually;  and  their 
number  cannot  be  less  than  forty-eight,  nor 
more  than  one  hundred. 

The  senators  are  to  be  chosen  every  two 
years,  one  half  of  them  every  year,  and  to 
consist,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  of  one  third  of 
the  number  of  the  representatives. 

The  census  is  to  be  taken  in  1837  and  1845, 
and  every  ten  years  after  the  latter  period, 
and  also  after  each  census  taken  by  the  Unit- 
ed States:  the  number  of  senators  and  repre- 
sentatives is  to  be  apportioned  anew  among 
the  several  counties,  according  to  the  number 
of  white  inhabitants. 

The  legislature  is  to  meet  annually,  on  the 
first  Monday  in  January. 

The  executive  power  is  to  be  vested  in  a 
governor,  who  holds  his  office  for  two  years. 
Upon  a  vacancy,  the  lieutenant  governor  per- 
forms executive  duties.  The  first  election 
was  held  on  the  first  Monday  in  October, 
1835;  and  the  governor  and  lieutenant  gover- 
nor hold  their  offices  till  the  first  Monday  in 
January,  1838. 

The  judicial  power  is  vested  in  one  Supreme 
Court,  and  in  such  other  courts  as  the  legisla- 
ture may,  from  time  to  time,  establish.  The 
judges  of  the  supreme  court  are  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor,  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  senate,  for  the  term  of  seven 
years.  Judges  of  all  county  courts,  associate 


MICHIGAN.  197 

judges  of  circuit  courts  and  judges  of  probate 
are  to  be  elected  by  the  people,  for  the  term 
of  four  years. 

I^ach  township  is  authorized  to  elect  four 
justices  of  the  peace,  who  are  to  hold  their 
offices  for  four  years.  In  all  elections,  every 
white  male  citizen,  above  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  having  resided  six  months  next 
preceding  any  election,  is  entitled  to  vote  at 
such  election.  Slavery,  lotteries  and  the  sale 
of  lottery -tickets  are  prohibited. 

The  seat  of  government  is  to  be  at  Detroit, 
or  such  other  place  or  places  as  may  be  pre- 
scribed by  law,  until  the  year  1847,  when  it  is 
to  be  permanently  fixed  by  the  legislature. 


CHAPTER    X. 


OHIO. 

Boundaries — Divisions — Face  of  the  Country — Soil  and 
Prod  notions — Animals — Minerals — Financial  Statistics- 
Canal  Fund — Expenditures — Land  Taxes — School  Fund 
— Statistics — Canal  Revenues — Population  at  different 
Periods — Rivers — Internal  Improvements Manufac- 
tures— Cities  and  Towns,  Cincinnati,  Columbus — Edu- 
cation— Form  of  Government — Antiquities — History. 

OHIO  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  lake  Erie 
and  the  State  of  Michigan,  east  by  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  Ohio  river,  south  by  the  Ohio 
river,  which  separates  it  from  Virginia  and 
Kentucky,  and  west  by  Indiana.  The  rnean- 
derings  of  the  Ohio  river  extend  along  the  line 
of  this  State  four  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles. 
It  is  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  miles 
in  extent,  both  from  north  to  south  and  from 
east  to  west.  After  excluding  a  section  of  lake 
Erie,  which  projects  into  its  northern  borders, 
Ohio  contains  about  40,000  square  miles,  or 
25,000,000  acres  of  land. 

Divisions.     Nature   has  divided   this   State 


OHIO. 


199 


into  four  departments,  according  to  its  princi- 
pal waters. 

1.  The  lake  country,  situated  on  lake  Erie, 
and    embracing    all    its    northern    part.      Its 
streams  all  run  into  the  lake,  and  reach  the 
Atlantic  ocean  through  the  gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence. 

2.  The  Muskingum  county,  on  the  eastern 
side,  and  along  the  river  of  that  name. 

3.  The  Scioto  country,  in  the  middle;  and, 

4.  The  Miama  country,  along  the  western 
side. 

For  civil  purposes,  the  State  is  divided  into 
seventy-five  counties,  and  these  are  again  sub- 
divided into  townships.  Their  names,  date  of 
organization,  number  of  square  miles,  number 
of  organized  townships,  seats  of  justice,  and 
bearing  and  distance  from  Columbus,  are  ex- 
hibited in  the  following  table: 


Counties. 

When  or- 
ganized. 

Square 
miles. 

Number  of 
Townships. 

Seats  of  Justice. 

Bearing  and 
distance  frm 
Columbus. 

-.. 

Adams,  .  .  . 
Allen,  .... 
Ashtabula,.  . 
Athens,  .... 
Belmont,  .  . 
Brown,  .... 
Butler,  .... 
Carrol,*  .  .  . 

1797  550 
1831  542 
1811  700 
1805  740 
1801  536 
1818470 
1803480 

1833    * 

,  \      \ 

10 

27 
19 
16 
14 
13 
# 

West  Union,  .  .  . 
Lima,  
Jefferson,  

101  s.   , 
110  n.w. 
200  n.w. 
73  s,e. 
116e. 
104s. 
101  s.w. 
125  e.n.e. 

Athens,  
St.  Clairsville,  .  .  . 
Georgetown,  .... 

Carrolton,  

*  Carroll  county  has  been  formed  from  Columbians, Harrison,  Stark 
and  Tuscarawas,  since  the  edition  of  the  Ohio  Gazetteer  of  1833  was 
published,  from  which  the  foregoing  table  has  been  constructed. 
Hence  the  townships  are  not  given. 


200 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


Counties. 

jl 

i^     gf! 

ll 

fl| 

Number  of 
To  tv  N  ships. 

Scats  of  Justice. 
'      j 

—  a 

HI 

e  2  2, 
Q>    a.    c 
EPSO 

Champaign.  . 

1805 

417   12 

Urbanna,      V    «tri 

50  w,n*w* 

i     s   >  • 
Clark,   .  .  .  .18.18412 

10 

Springfield,  .... 

44  w. 

Cleraiont,  .  .1800515 

12 

Catavia,  96  s.u: 

Clinton,  Il810'400 

8 

Wilmington,  .  .  .*.  |   60  s.u: 

Columbiana,  11803J    * 

* 

New  Lisbon,  .  .  .  .150  e.n.c. 

Coshocton,  .1811 

562  21 

Coshocton,   ....     68  n.e. 

Crawford,  .  .1826 

5941  12 

Bucyrus,  •  60  n. 

Cuyahoga,.  .  1810 

475i  19 

Cleveland,.  .  '..  .  .,140  n.n,e. 

Dark,  !1817 

660 

10 

Greenville,   .  .  .  .  ;   93  w. 

Delaware,    Jl808 

610 

23 

Delaware,  24  n. 

Fairfield,    .  .  1800 

540 

14 

Lancaster,     ....     28  s.e. 

Fayette,   .  .  .  1810  415 

7 

Washington,  ....     38  s.w. 

Franklin,    .  .1803520 

18 

COLUMBUS,   .  .  . 

Gallia,  ....  1803  500 

15 

Gallipolis,  102  s.s.e. 

Geauga,  .  .  .  1805  600 

23 

Chardoa,    157  n.e. 

Greene,  '1803400 

8, 

Xenia,  <  56  w.s.w. 

Guernsey,    J  1810  621 

19 

Cambridge,  ....     76  e. 

Hamilton,  .  . 

1790:400  14  Cincinnati,  

110  s.u: 

Hancock,   .  . 

1828  576     5  Findlav  

90  n.n.w. 

Hardin,    .  .  . 

1833  570  

Kenton. 

70  n.n.-w. 

Harrison,.  .  . 

1813*—  13,Cadiz,  

124  e.n.e. 

rTcnrv 

'744     °  'Napoleon 

161  n.w. 

Highland,  .  . 

1805  555  11  JHillsborough,  .  .  . 

62  s.s.w. 

Hocking,   -.  . 

1818J432     9  {Logan,    

46  s.s.e. 

Holmes,  .  .  . 

18251422  14  AnijjgjgfgSg,   :  .  .  . 

81  n.e. 

Huron,  .... 

1815 

SOO  29 

NorwaB^T  

106  n. 

Jackson,  .  .  . 

1816 

490  13 

Jackson,  

73  s.s.e. 

Jefferson,  .  . 

1797 

400  13 

Steubenville,  \  .  . 

147  e.n.e. 

Knox,   .... 

1808 

618  24 

Mount  Vernon,  .  . 

47  n.n.e. 

Lawrence,  .  . 

1817 

430  12 

Burlington,  .... 

130  s.s.e. 

Licking,   .  .  . 

1808  666  25 

Newark,  

33  e.n.e. 

Logan,  .... 

1818425     9 

Bellefontaine,  ...    50  n.w. 

Lorain,  .... 

1824580  19 

Elyria,  1  30  n.n.f.. 

Lucas,*.  .  .  .  1835! 

—  Toledo,    150  n.n.w. 

*  Lucas  county  has  been  recently  formed  from  parts  taken  from 

Band  u  sky  and  Wood  counties,  and  from  the  disputed  country  claimed 

by  Michigan 


OHIO. 


201 


Counties. 

When  or- 
ganized. 

*  . 

u 

of£ 

Number  of 
Townships. 

Seats  of  Justice. 

' 

:  t|.. 

Ill 

a  £  3 
".£0 

_    i£~O 

25  w.s.w. 
45  n. 
110  n.n.e. 
94  s.s.e. 
Ill  n.w. 
68  n.ofw. 
120  c.s.e. 
68  w. 
75  s.e.: 
52  e. 
170  n.w.. 
46  e.s.e. 
26  s. 
64s. 
135  n.e. 
50  w. 
148  n.w. 
74  n.n.e. 
45s. 
105  n. 
90  s. 
87  n. 
70  n.w. 
116  n.e. 
160  n.e. 
100  e.n.e. 
30  n.w. 
100  n.w. 
80  s.w. 
106  s.e. 
89  n.e. 
130  n.w. 
135  n.w. 

Madison,    .  . 
Marion,  .... 
Medina,  .... 
Meigs,  .... 
Mercer,    .  .  . 
Miami,  .... 
Monroe,   .  .  . 
Montgomery, 
Morgan,   .  .  . 
Muskingum, 
Paulding,*  .  . 
Perry,  .... 
Pickaway,  .  . 
Pike,  
Portage,  .  .  . 
Preble,  .... 
Putnam,*   .  . 
Richland,  .  . 
Ross,    .... 
Sa^usky,    . 
Scioto,   .... 
Seneca,    .  .  . 
Shelby,  .... 
Stark,   .... 
Trumbull,    . 
Tu  scar  a  was, 
Union,  .... 
Vanwert,t  .  . 
Warren,  .  .  . 
Washington, 
Wayne,   .  .  . 
Williams,  .  . 
Wood,.  .  .  . 

1810 
1824 
1818 
1819 
1824 
1807 
1815 
1803 
1819 
1804 

480 
527 
475 
400 
576 
410 
563 
480 
500 
665 
432 
402 
470 
421 
750 
432 
576 
900 
650 
600 
700 
540 
418 
* 

875 
* 

450 
432 
400 
713 
660 
600 
750 

10 
15 
14 
12 
4 
12 
18 
12 
15 
23 
3 
12 
14 
9 
30 
12 
2 
25 
16 
10 
14 
11 
10 
16 
34 
10 
9 

9 
19 
20 
10 
7 

London,   
Marion,  ' 
Medina,  
Chester,   
St.  Mary's,  .... 
Troy,  
Woodsfield,  .... 
Dayton,  
M'Connelsville,   . 
Zanesville,    .... 

Somerset,  
Circleville,    .... 
Piketon,   
Ravenna,    
Eaton, 

1818 
1810 
1815 

1807 

1808 

1813 
1798 
1820 
1803 
1824 
1819 
1809 
1800 
1808 
1820 

1803 
1788 
1812 
1824 
1820 

Mansfield,  
Chilicothe,  
Lower  Sandusky, 
Portsmouth,  .... 
Tiffin,  

Sidney,  

Canton, 

Warren,  ...... 
New  Philadelphia, 
Marysville  

Lebanon,  

Marietta,  
Wooster,  
Defiance, 

Perrysburg,  .... 

*  Paulding,  Futnam  and  Vanwert  counties  had  not  been  organized 
at  tin  period  ot'onr  information. 

f  Much  of  the  land  in  Vanwert  is  wet.  The  southern  portion  con- 
tains much  swampy  prauie. 

9* 


202  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

There  are  nineteen  congressional  districts 
in  Ohio,  which  elect  as  many  members  of 
Congress,  and  twelve  circuits  for  courts  of 
common  pleas. 

Face  of  the  Country.  The  interior  and 
northern  parts  of  the  State,  bordering  on  lake 
Erie,  are  generally  level,  and,  in  some  places, 
wet  and  marshy.  The  eastern  and  south- 
eastern parts,  bordering  on  the  Ohio  river, 
are  hilly  and  broken,  but  not  mountainous. 
In  some  counties  the  hills  are  abrupt  and 
broken;  in  others  they  form  ridges,  and  are 
cultivated  to  their  summits.  Immediately  on 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  and  other  large  rivers, 
are  strips  of  rich  alluvion  soil. 

The  country  along  the  Scioto  and  two  Mi- 
ami rivers,  furnish  more  extensive  bodies  of 
rich,  fertile  land,  than  any  other  part  of  the 
State.  The  prairie  land  is  found  in  small 
tracts  near  the  head  waters  of  the  Muskingum 
and  Scioto,  and  between  the  sources  of  the 
two  Miami  rivers,  and  especially  in  the  north- 
western part  of  the  State.  Many  of  the  prai- 
ries in  Ohio  are  low  and  wet;  some  are  ele- 
vated and  dry,  and  exhibit  the  features  of 
those  tracts  called  "  barrens,"  in  Illinois. 
There  are  extensive  plains,  some  of  which 
are  wet,  towards  Sandusky. 

Soil  and  Productions.  The  soil,  in  at  least 
three  fourths  of  the  State,  is  fertile;  and  some 
of  it  very  rich.  The  poorest  portion  of  Ohio  is 
along  the  Ohio  river,  from  fifteen  to  twenty- 
five  miles  in  width,  and  extending  from  the  na- 


OHIO.  203 

tional  road,  opposite  Wheeling,  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Scioto  river.  Many  of  the  hills  in  this 
region  are  rocky. 

Among  the  forest  trees  are  oak  of  various 
species,  white  and  black  walnut,  hickory, 
maple  of  different  kinds,  beech,  poplar,  ash 
of  several  kinds,  birch,  buckeye,  cherry, 
chestnut,  locust,  elm,  hackberry,  sycamore, 
linden,  with  numerous  others.  Amongst  the 
undergrowth  are  spice-bush,  dogwood,  iron- 
wood,  pawpaw,  hornbeam,  black-haw,  thorn, 
wild  plum,  grape  vines,  &.c.  The  plains  and 
wet  prairies  produce  wild  grass. 

The  agricultural  productions  are  such  as 
are  common  to  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States. 
Indian  corn,  as  in  other  Western  States,  is  a 
staple  grain,  raised  with  much  ease,  and  in 
great  abundance:  more  than  one  hundred 
bushels  are  produced  from  an  acre,  on  the 
rich  alluvial  soils  of  the  bottom  lands,  though 
from  forty  to  fifty  bushels  per  acre  ought  to 
be  considered  an  average  crop.  The  State, 
generally,  has  a  fine  soil  for  wheat,  and  flour 
is  produced  for  exportation  in  large  quan- 
tities; rye,  oats,  buckwheat,  barley,  potatoes, 
melons,  pumpkins  and  all  manner  of  garden 
vegetables,  are  cultivated  to  great  perfection. 
No  markets  in  the  United  States  are  more 
profusely  arid  cheaply  supplied  with  meat  and 
vegetables  than  those  of  Cincinnati  and  other 
large  towns  in  Ohio.  Hemp  is  produced  to 
some  extent,  and  the  choicest  kinds  of  tobacco 
are  raised  and  cured  in  some  of  the  counties 


204 


east  of  the  Muskingum  river.  Fruits  of  all 
kinds  are  raised  in  great  plenty,  especially 
apples,  which  grow  to  a  large  size,  and  are 
finely  flavored.  The  vine  and  the  mulberry 
have  been  introduced,  and,  with  enterprise 
and  industry,  wine  and  silk  might  easily  be 
added  to  its  exports. 

Animals.  Bears,  wolves  and  deer  are  still 
found  in  the  forests  and  unsettled  portions  of 
the  State.  The  domestic  animals  are  similar 
to  other  States.  Swine  is  one  of  the  staple  pro- 
ductions, and  Cincinnati  has  been  denomina- 
ted the  "  pork  market  of  the  world."  Other 
towns  in  the  W^est,  and  in  Ohio,  are  begin- 
ning to  receive  a  share  of  this  trade,  especially 
along  the  lines  of  the  Miami  and  the  Erie  ca- 
nals. One  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  hogs 
have  been  slaughtered  and  prepared  for  mar- 
ket in  one  season,  in  Cincinnati.  About  sev- 
enty-five thousand  is  the  present  estimated 
number,  from  newspaper  authority.  Immense 
droves  of  fat  cattle  are  sent  every  autumn 
from  the  Scioto  valley  and  other  parts  of  the 
State.  They  are  driven  to  all  the  markets  of 
the  east  and  south. 

Minerals.  The  mineral  deposits  of  Ohio, 
a§  yet  discovered,  consist  principally  of  iron, 
salt,  and  bituminous  coal,  and  are  found, 
chiefly,  along  the  south-eastern  portion  of 
the  State.  Let  a  line  be  drawn  from  the 
south-eastern  part  of  Ashtabula  county,  in 
a  south-western  direction,  by  Northampton, 
in  Portage  county,  Wooster,  Mount  Vernon. 
Granville,  Circleville,  to  Hillsborough,  and 


OHIO. 


205 


thence  south,  to  the  Ohio  river  in  Brown 
county,  and  it  would  leave  most  of  the  salt, 
iron  and  coal  on  the  eastern  and  south-east- 
ern side. 

Financial  Statistics,  From  the  auditor's 
report  to  the  legislature,  January,  1836,  the 
following  items  are  extracted.  The  general 
revenue  is  obtained  from  moderate  taxes  on 
landed  and  personal  property,  and  collected 
by  the  county  treasurers,  from  insurance, 
bank  and  bridge  companies,  from  lawyers, 
physicians,  &c. 

Collected  in  1835,  by  the  several  county 

treasurers, $150,080 

Paid  by  banks,  bridges,  and  insurance  com- 
panies,    26,060 

By  lawyers  and  physicians, 1 ,598 

From  other  sources,  .  , 24,028 


Making  an  aggregate  of        $201 ,766 

The  disbursements  are: — 

t  r    . « \ 

Amount  of  deficit,  for  1834, $16,622 

Bills  redeemed  at  the  treasury,  for  the  year 

ending  Nov.  1835, 182,005 

Interest  paid  on  school  fund, 33,101 


Amounting  to  $231,728 

Showing  a  deficit  in  the  revenue,  of  $29,962 

Canal  Funds.  These  appear  to  be  separate 
accounts  from  the  general  receipts  and  dis- 
bursements. 

Miami  Canal.  The  amount  of  money  aris- 
ing from  the  sales  of  esiami  canal  lands  up  to 


206 


Nov.  15,  1835,  is  $310,178.  This  sum  has 
been  expended  in  the  extension  of  the  canal 
north  of  Dayton. 

Ohio  Canal.  The  amount  of  taxes  collect- 
ed for  canal  purposes,  for  the  year  1835,  in- 
cluding tolls,  sales  of  canal  lands,  school 
lands,  balance  remaining  in  the  treasury  of 
last  year,  &c.,  is  $509,322.  Only  $38,242  of 
the  general  revenue  were  appropriated  to  ca- 
nal purposes;  of  which,  $35,507  went  to  pay 
interest  on  the  school  funds  borrowed  by  the 
State. 

The  foreign  debt  is  $4,400,000;  the  legal 
interest  of  which  is  $260,000  per  annum.  The 
domestic  debt  of  the  State,  arising  from  invest- 
ing the  different  school  funds,  is  $579,287 ;  the 
interest  of  which  amounts  to  $34,757:  making 
an  aggregate  annual  interest  paid  by  the  State 
on  loans,  $294,757.  The  canal  toils  for  the 
year  1835  amounted  to  $242,357,  and  the 
receipts  from  the  sale  of  Ohio  canal  lands, 
$64,549;  making  an  aggregate  income  to  the 
canal  fund  of  $306,906  per  annum; — a  surn 
more  than  sufficient  to  pay  the  interest  on  all 
loans  for  canal  purposes. 

Items  of  Expenditure.  Under  this  head  the 
principal  items  of  the  expenditures  of  the  State 
government  are  given. 

Members,  and  officers  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, per  annum, $43,987 

Officers  of  government, 20,828 

Keeper  of  the  Penitentiary, 1,909 

For  new  Penitentiary  buildings, 46,050 


OHIO.  207 

State  printing, 12,243 

Paper  and  stationary,  for  uee  of  the  State,.  4,478 

Certificates  for  wolf  scalps, 2,824 

Adjutant,   and   Quarter   Master   Generals, 

and  Brigade  Inspectors, 2,276 

Treasurer's  mileage,  on  settlement  with  the 

Auditor  of  State, 1,027 

Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum, 5,700 

Periodical  works,  &c., 400 

Postage  on  documents, 545 

Reporter  to  Court,  in  Bank, 800 

Members  and  clerks  of  the  Board  of  Equal- 
ization, and  articles  furnished, 1,960 

Paymaster  General, — Ohio  militia, 2,000 

The  extra  session  of  the  legislature  on  the 
boundary  line,  in  June,  1835,  was  §6,823. 

Land  Taxes.  The  amount  of  lands  taxed, 
and  the  revenue  arising  therefrom,  at  several 
different  periods,  are  herewith  given,  to  show 
the  progressive  advance  of  the  farming  and 
other  interests  of  the  State. 

Years.                                Acres.  Taxes  paid. 

1809, 9,924,033.  .  .  .  $ 63,991  87 

1810, 10,479,029 67,501  60 

1811, 12,134,777 170,546  74 

From  1811  to  18 16,  the  average  increase 
of  the  taxes  paid  by  the  several  counties,  was 
$59,351.  From  1816,  the  State  rose  rapidly 
in  the  scale  of  prosperity  and  the  value  of 
property.  In  1820,  the  number  of  acres  re- 
turned as  taxable,  exceeded  a  fraction  of  thir- 
teen millions,  while  the  aggregate  of  taxes, 
was  $205,346. 

The  period  of  depression  and  embarrass- 


208  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

ment  that  followed  throughout  the  West,  pre- 
vented property  from  advancing  in  Ohio.  In 
1826,  '27,  '28,  '29,  '30,  a  material  change  in 
the  amount  of  property  taxable,  took  place, 
from  a  few  hundred  thousands  to  more  than 
fifty  millions.  The  total  value  of  taxable 
property  of  the  State,  for  1835  (exclusive  of 
three  counties,  from  which  returns  had  not 
been  received),  amounts  to  the  sum  of  ninety- 
four  millions,  four  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
thousand,  nine  hundred  andjifly-one  dollars. 

School  Funds.    The  amount  of  school  funds 
loaned  to  the  State,  up  to  Nov.  15,  1835,  is:— 

Virginia  military  land  fund, $  109,937 

United  States  military  land  fund 90,126 

Common  school  fund, 23,179 

Athens  university, 1,431 

School  section,  No  16, 453,000 

Connecticut  Western  Reserve,.  .        ....     125,758 


Total,  $803,432 

The  following  tabular  view  of  the  acres  of 
land,  total  amount  of  taxable  property,  and  to- 
tal amount  of  taxes  paid  for  1833,  is  taken  from 
the  Ohio  Gazetteer.  It  should  be  rioted,  that 
in  all  the  Western  States,  lands  purchased  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  are  ex- 
empted from  taxation  for  five  years  after  sale. 
It  is  supposed  that  such  lands  are  not  included 
in  the  table.  I  have  also  placed  the  popula- 
tion of  each  county  for  1830,  from  the  census 
of  that  year;  reminding  the  reader  that  great 
changes  have  since  been  made. 


OHIO. 


209 


Counties. 

Popula- 
tion 1830. 

Acres  of  land. 

Total  amount 
of  taxable 

property. 

Total  a  mount 
of  taxes  paid. 

Adams,    .  .  . 

12,231 

234,822 

$832,565 

$'6,995  41 

Allen,   

578 

14,159 

51,214 

72528 

Ashtabula,   . 

14,584 

449,742 

1,347,900 

13,524  97 

Athens,    .  .  . 

9,787 

365,348 

481,579 

5,820  90 

Belmont,    .  . 

28,627 

301,511 

1,591,716 

1  11,590  33 

Brown,  .... 

17,867 

267,130 

1,458,944 

8,179  35 

Butler,  .... 

27,142 

257,989 

2,514,007 

20,111  55 

Carrol,  
Champaign,  . 

12,131 

185,942 
233,493 

529,575 
908,571 

6,876  92 
5,956  66 

Clark,   

13,114 

247,083 

1,114,995 

7,744  89 

Clermont,  .  . 

20,466 

280,679 

1,542,627 

15,645  31 

Clinton,  .... 

11,436 

239,4-04 

785,770 

6,482  14 

Columbiana, 

35,592 

317,796 

1,491,099 

14,217  2S 

Coshocton,  . 

11,161 

246,123 

850,708 

9,307  28 

Crawford,  .  . 

4,791 

79,582 

217,675 

3,630  09 

Cuyahoga,  .  . 

10,373 

292,252 

1,401,591 

18,122  96 

Dark, 

6,204 

107,730 

260,259 

3,312  81 

Delaware,    . 

11,504 

338,856 

831,093 

8,516  66 

Fairfield,    .  . 

24,786 

308,163 

1,992,697 

13,716  97 

Fayette,   .  .  . 

8,182 

234,432 

544,539 

6,428  98 

Franklin,  .  .  . 

14,741 

325,155 

1,663,315 

13,24734 

Gallia,  .... 

9,733 

205,727 

427,962 

4,826  55 

Geauga,  .  .  . 

15,813 

381,380 

1,427,869 

15,832  65 

Greene,.  .  .  . 

14,801 

251,512 

1,441,907 

12,082  36 

Guernsey,    . 

18,036 

275,652 

908,109 

9,855  72 

Hamilton,  .  . 

52,317 

239,122 

7,726,091 

97,530  42 

Hancock,  .  . 

813 

9,302 

50,929 

421  70 

Harden,   .  .  . 

210 

125,607 

118,425 

1,291  43 

Harrison,   .  . 

20,916 

22,412 

1,025,210 

12,400  97 

Highland,  .  . 

16,345 

317,079 

1,065,863 

8,755  29 

Hocking,  .  .  . 

4,008 

92,332 

215,272 

1,919  29 

Holmes,  .  .  . 

9,135 

182,439 

556,060 

6,364  03 

Huron,  .... 

13,346 

504,689 

1,512,655 

15,490  88 

Jackson,  .  .  . 

5,941 

57,874 

197,932 

2,239  69 

Jefferson,   .  . 

22,489 

230,145 

1,855,064 

13,149  44 

Knox,  .i  jM 

17,085 

313,823 

1,252,294 

13,329  41 

Lawrence,.  . 

5,367 

56,862 

241,782 

2,280  80 

10 

210 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


Counties. 

Popula- 
tion 1830. 

Acres  of  land. 

Total  amount 
of  taxable 
property. 

Total  amount 
of  taxes  paid. 

Licking,   .  .  . 

20,869 

393,205 

2,101,495 

17,370  83 

Logan,  .... 

6,440 

203,509 

519,622 

3,925  65 

Lorain,  .... 

5,696       360,863 

889,552 

10,539  09 

Madison,    .  . 

6,190!       256,421 

600,578 

4,643  91 

Marion,    .  .  . 

6,551        168,164 

390,602 

5,599  78 

Medina,    .  .  . 

7,560       296,257 

931,599 

10,198  31 

Meigs,  .... 

6,158       229,004 

380,172 

5,111  58 

Mercer  .... 

1,110         12,688 

54,118 

714  30 

Miami,  .... 

12,807       240,093    1,000,748 

6,423  09 

Monroe,   .  .  . 

8,768         95,520!       280,572 

3,666  61 

Montgomery,    24,362 

267,349    2,293,419 

14,649  12 

Morgan,   .  .  . 

11,800 

169,135 

452,991 

4,945  02 

Muskingum, 

29,334 

366,609 

2,362,616 

18,567  75 

Perry,  

13,970 

175,123       729,241 

6,116  55 

Pickawav,  .  . 

16,001 

800,9691   1,798,665 

10,924  76 

Pike,  .."... 

6,024 

129,153       521,109 

4,114  37 

Portage,  .  .  . 

18,826 

472,156    2,019,029    17,787  06 

Preble,  

16,291 

246,678    1,086,322      7,441  82 

Richland,  .  . 

24,008 

433,620    1,354,169    15,069  92 

Ross,    .... 

24,068 

328,765    2,897,605    17,474  81 

Sandnsky,    . 

2,851 

95,822 

275,992 

3,354  64 

Scioto,   .... 

8,740 

105,539 

963,882 

7,926  93 

Seneca,    .  .  . 

6,159 

108,758 

302,089 

3,916  51 

Stark,   

26,588 

374,101 

1,854,967 

16,361  36 

Shelby,    .  .  . 

3,671 

66,863 

194,468 

1,961  26 

Trumbull,  .  . 

26,1231       556,011 

1,807,792 

16,635  58 

Tuscarawas, 

14,298 

237,337 

902,778 

8,955  75 

Union,  .... 

3,192 

259,101 

380,535 

5,193  68 

Warren,  .  .  . 

21,468 

243,517 

2,143,065!  16,247  33 

Washington, 

11,731 

282,498 

681,301 

7,463  12 

Wayne,.  .  .  . 

23,333 

382,254 

1,451,996 

14,584  77 

Williams  and 

~\ 

others  not  in- 

( 1,089 

17,797 

90,066 

1,351  02 

corporated. 

) 

Wood,  .... 

1,102 

17,981 

127,862 

1,572  22 

Total, 

937,903 

17,133,481  '78,019,526 

730,010  75 

OHIO.  ,:i:.,  *  211 

Statistics  for  1836.  From  the  annual  report 
of  the  auditor  of  State,  it  appears  there  were 
returned,  on  the  general  list  for  taxation, 
17,819,631  acres  of  land,  under  the  new  valu- 
ation, made  under  the  law  of  1833  '34: 

Lands,  including  buildings,  valued  at.  .  $58,166,821 
Town  lots,  including  houses,  mills,  etc.  15,762,594 
Horses  (262,291),  valued  at  $40  each,  10,491,640 
Cattle  (455,487) ,  valued  at  $8  each, .  .  4,043,896 
Merchants'  capital  and  money  at  interest,  7,262,927 
Pleasure  carriages  (2,603) ,  valued  at .  .  199,518 

Total  amount  of  taxable  property,     $94,438,016 

On  the  value  of  taxable  property,  the  follow- 
ing taxes  were  levied: 

State  and  Canal  tax $142,854  15 

County  and  School  tax, 396,505  80 

Road  tax, 66,482  10 

Township  tax, 102,991  65 

Corporation,  Jail  and  Bridge  tax,  ....        51,276  89 

Physicians'  and  Lawyers'  tax, 3,144  19 

School-house  tax, 1,482  84 

Delinquencies  of  former  years, 13,044  37 

Total  taxes,          -        $777,782  07 
No  returns  were  made  from  the  counties  of 
Crawford,  Hancock,  Jefferson  and  Williams. 

Canal  Revenues.  The  total  amount  of  re- 
ceipts for  tolls,  for  the  year  ending  October 
31,  1835,  was  as  follows: 

Ohio  Canal. 
Cleaveland,.  .$72,718  72  Newark,.  .  . .  $20,487  85 

Akron, 6,362  90JColumbus,.  .        4,60537 

Massillon;   ...    13,585  78;Circleville, .  .        9,65144 

Dover, 8,096  42(Chillicothe,  .      12,13475 

Roscoe, 14,555  83 Portsmouth,.      23,11878 

Total,         $185,317  45 


212 

Miama  Canal. 

Dayton,.  .  .  .  $  14,016  75  Hamilton,  .  .  .  $3,664  88 

Middleton,.  .       8,747  19  Cincinnati,.  .  .   25,803  77 

Total,         $52,232  59 

Total  tolls  received  on  both  canals,  .  .  .  $237,550  04 
Deduct  contingent  expenses  on  Ohio 

canal, $5,836  05 

Do.  on  Miama  canal, 2,954  68 — 8,790  73 

$228,759  31 

Toll  received  on  Lancaster  Lat.  canal,.          1,062  56 
Water  rents  and  sale  of  State  lota,  .  .  .          3,700  07 
Arrearages  paid  of  tolls  received  in  Oc- 
tober, 1834, 7,835  26 

$242,357  20 
Population  of  Ohio,  at  different  periods. 

In  Population.  I  From  Increase. 

1790,  about.  .  .  3,000  1790  to  1800,  .  .  42,365 
1800,  "  ...  45,365  1800  "  1810,  .  .  185,395 
1810,  "  ...  230,760J1810  "  1820,  .  .  350,674 
1820,  "  ...  581,434  1820  "  1830,  ..  356,4^9 
1830,  "  ...  937,903  1830  "  1835,  .  .  437,097 
1835,estimated,l,375,000 

Rivers.  The  streams  which  flow  into  the 
Ohio  river,  are  the  Mahoning,  a  branch  of  the 
Beaver,  Little  Beaver,  Muskingum,  Hock- 
hocking,  Scioto,  and  Little  and  Great  Miami. 
Those  which  flow  from  the  northward  into 
lake  Erie,  are  the  Maumee,  Portage,  Sandus- 
ky,  Huron,  Cuyahoga,  Grand  and  Ashtabula. 
Hence  the  State  is  divided  into  two  unequal 
inclined  planes,  the  longest  of  which  slopes 
towards  the  Ohio,  and  the  shortest  towards 
the  lake.  The  head  waters  of  the  Muskingum, 
Scioto  and  Miami  interlock  with  those  of  the 


OHIO.  213 

Cuyahoga,  Sandusky  and  Maumee,  so  as  to 
render  the  construction  of  canals  not  only 
practicable,  but  comparatively  easy.  All  the 
large  streams  are  now  navigable  for  boats 
during  the  spring  season. 

Internal  Improvements.  These  consist  of 
canals,  rail-roads,  turnpike-roads,  and  the 
national  road,  now  under  the  supervision  of, 
and  owned  by  the  State.  The  canaling  is 
managed  by  a  Board  of  Commissioners.  The 
State  canals  were  projected  about  1823;  and, 
considering  the  youthful  character  of  the 
State,  its  want  of  funds  and  other  circum- 
stances, they  are,  undoubtedly,  the  greatest 
works  ever  executed  in  America. 

The  Ohio  and  Erie  canal  connects  lake  Erie 
with  the  Ohio  river.  It  commences  at  Cleave- 
land,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga,  passes 
along  that  river  and  its  tributaries,  to  the 
summit  level;  from  thence  to  the  waters  of  the 
Muskingum,  and  to  the  border  of  Muskingum 
county;  from  thence  it  strikes  across  the 
county,  past  Newark,  in  Licking  county,  and 
strikes  the  Scioto,  down  the  valley  of  which 
it  proceeds  to  its  mouth,  at  Portsmouth.  The 
principal  places  on  the  canal  are  Akron,  New 
Portage,  Massillon,  Bolivar,  New  Philadel- 
phia, Coshocton,  Newark,  Bloomfield,  Circle- 
ville,  Chillicothe,  Piketon  and  Portsmouth. 
It  was  commenced  on  the  4th  of  July,  1825, 
and  completed  in  1832;  and,  together  with 
the  Miami  canal  to  Dayton,  cost  about 
$5,500,000,  and  has  greatly  enriched  the 


214  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

State  and  the  people.    Private  property  along 
its  line  has  risen  from  five  to  ten  fold. 

Length  of  the  Ohio  and  Erie  Canal. 

Miles. 

Main  trunk,  from  Cleaveland  to  Portsmouth,  .  .  .  310 
Navigable  feeder,  from  main  trunk  to  Columbus, .    11 

"  "         «       «         «         Granville,..     6 

Muskingum  side-cut,  from  the  Muskingum  river, 

at  Dresden, 3 

Navigable  feeder  from  the  Tuscarawas  river,   ...     3 

"  "       ''  4*  •      Walhonding  river,  ...      1 

Total  length  of  Ohio  canal  and  branches,     334 

The  Miami  canal  commences  at  Cincinnati; 
and,  passing  through  the  towns  of  Reading, 
Hamilton,  Middletown,  Franklin  and  Miamis- 
burg,  terminates  at  Dayton,  sixty-five  miles. 
It  has  been  navigated  from  Dayton  to  the 
head  of  Main  street,  Cincinnati,  since  the 
spring  of  1829.  An  extension  of  the  work  is 
now  in  progress,  to  be  carried  along  the  val- 
leys of  St.  Mary's  and  Au  Glaise  rivers,  and 
unite  with  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal,  at 
Defiance;  distance  from  Cincinnati  about  one 
hundred  and  ninety  miles. 

An  act  passed  the  Ohio  legislature  in  1834, 
for  continuing  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal 
(now  constructing  in  Indiana,  by  that  State), 
from  the  western  boundary  of  Ohio,  to  the 
Maumee  bay.  Operations  have  been  suspend- 
ed by  the  boundary  dispute  with  Michigan. 

The  Mahoning  and  Beaver  canal  has  al- 
ready been  noticed,  under  the  head  of  West- 
ern Pennsylvania.  It  is  proposed  to  carry  it 


OHIO.  215 

from  Akron,  on  the  Portage  summit,  along  the 
valley  of  the  Mahoning  river,  to  Newcastle, 
on  the  Beaver  division  of  the  Pennsylvania 
canal.  Distance  in  Ohio,  seventy-seven 
miles.  The  work  is  in  progress. 

The  Sandy  Creek  and  Little  Beaver  canal 
is  in  progress  by  a  chartered  company.  It 
commences  near  the  town  of  Bolivar,  on  the 
Ohio  and  Erie  canal,  in  Tuscarawas  county, 
and  passes  along  near  the  line  of  Stark  and 
Carrol  counties,  to  the  Little  Beaver  in  Co- 
lumbiana  county,  and  from  thence  to  the  Ohio 
river. 

The  Mad  River  and  Sandusky  rail-road 
will  extend  from  Dayton  on  the  Miami  canal, 
to  Sandusky,  through  Springfield,  Urbanna, 
Bellefontaine,  Upper  Sandusky,  Tiffin,  and 
down  the  valley  of  the  Sandusky  river,  to  lake 
Erie.  The  route  is  remarkably  favorable  for 
locomotive  power.  Length  153  miles;  esti- 
mated cost,  $11,000  per  mile.  The  work  was 
commenced  in  September,  1835. 

The  Erie  and  Ohio  rail-road  is  intended 
to  be  constructed  from  Ashtabulaon  the  lake, 
through  Warren  to  Wellsville,  on  the  Ohio 
river,  a  distance  of  ninety  miles.  Other 
rail-roads  are  in  contemplation  in  this  State, 
the  most  important  of  which  is  the  Great 
Western  rail-road,  from  Boston^  by  Worces- 
ter, Springfield,  and  Stockbridge,  through 
New  York,  by  Albany,  Utica  and  Buffalo, 
along  the  summit  ridge,  dividing  the  northern 
from  the  southern  waters,  through  Pennsyl- 


216  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

vania,  Ohio,  to  intersect  the  Wabash  and 
Erie  canal  at  Lafayette,  in  Indiana.  From 
thence  provision  is  already  made  for  it  to  pass 
to  the  eastern  boundary  of  Illinois,  from 
which,  a  company  has  been  recently  charter- 
ed to  construct  it  across  the  State  of  Illinois 
by  Danville,  Shelbyville,  Hillsborough  to 
Alton  on  the  Mississippi.  It  must  be  some 
untoward  circumstance,  that  shall  prevent  this 
splendid  work  from  being  completed  the  whole 
length,  before  1850. 

The  project  of  a  rail-road  from  Cincinnati, 
to  Charleston  in  South  Carolina,  has  been 
entered  upon  with  great  spirit  in  the  South, 
and  in  all  the  States  more  directly  concerned 
in  the  enterprise.  It  will,  undoubtedly,  be 
carried  into  effect. 

The  State  of  Ohio  has  incorporated  a  num- 
ber of  turnpike  companies,  some  of  which 
have  gone  into  operation.  The  first  is  near 
the  north-eastern  corner  of  the  State,  from 
Pierpont,  through  Monroe  and  Salem  town- 
ships to  the  mouth  of  Conneaut  creek, 
sixteen  miles  long.  The  second  is  the 
Trumbull  and  Ashtabula  turnpike,  leading 
from  Warren  to  Ashtabula,  forty-eight  miles. 
The  third  is  from  the  town  of  Wooster, 
through  Medina  to  Cleaveland,  fifty-one  miles. 
The  fourth  is  from  Columbus  to  Sandusky, 
106  miles,  now  in  the  course  of  construction. 
Another  from  Cincinnati,  through  Lebanon 
and  Columbus,  to  \Vooster,  has  been  com- 
menced on  the  McAdamized  plan,  but  is  not 


OHIO.  217 

completed.  A  McAdam  turnpike  from  Cin- 
cinnati to  Chillicothe  is  in  progress.  The 
national  road,  constructed  by  the  general 
government,  and  transferred  to  the  State, 
passes  from  Wheeling,  through  Columbus,  to 
the  Indiana  line. 

Manufactures.  The  principal  factory  for 
woollen  goods  is  at  Steubenville.  A  number 
of  cotten  factories  are  in  the  towns  along  the 
Ohio  river.  Furnaces  for  smelting  iron  ore 
are  in  operation  in  the  counties  bordering  on 
the  Ohio,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto. 
Glass  is  manufactured  in  several  towns.  Con- 
siderable salt  is  made  on  the  Muskingum  below 
Zanesville,  on  the  Scioto,  and  on  Yellow 
creek  above  Steubenville.  About  half  a  mil- 
lion of  bushels  were  made  in  the  State,  in 
1830. 

Cincinnati  rivals  Pittsburgh  in  the  number, 
variety  and  extent  of  its  manufacturing  oper- 
ations. 

In  every  town  and  village  through  the  State, 
mechanics'  shops  are  established  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  all  articles  of  ordinary  use, 

Cities  and  Towns.  To  enter  upon  minute 
descriptions,  or  even  name  all  these,  would 
much  exceed  the  bounds  of  this  work. 

CINCINNATI  is  the  great  commercial  empo- 
rium of  the  State.  It  is  pleasantly  situated 
on  the  right  or  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio 
river,  about  equidistant  from  Pittsburgh  and 
its  mouth,  in  north  latitude  39°  06',  and 
west  longitude  from  Washington  city  7°  25'. 


218  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Directly  fronting  the  city  to  the  south,  and 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Ohio  river,  are  the 
flourishing  manufacturing  towns  of  Newport 
and  Covington,  which  are  separated  by  the 
Licking  river,  of  Kentucky,  which  enters 
the  Ohio  directly  opposite  the  Cincinnati 
landing. 

The  wharf  arrangements  are  the  most  con- 
venient for  lading  and  unlading  goods  at  all 
stages  of  the  water,  to  be  found  on  our  west- 
ern rivers.  The  town  site  is  beautifully  sit- 
uated on  the  first  and  second  banks  of  the 
river, — the  former  of  which  is  above  ordinary 
high  water,  and  the  latter  gently  rises  sixty 
or  seventy  feet  higher,  and  spreads  out  into  a 
semicircular  plain,  surrounded  with  elevated 
bluffs. 

Cincinnati  was  founded  in  1789,  but  did  not 
grow  rapidly  till  about  1808.  The  progressive 
increase  of  population  will  appear  from  the 
following  table: 

In  Population.    In  Population. 

1810, 2,320  1826,.  . 16,230 

1813, \  .    4,000  1830, 26,515 

1819, 10,000  1835,  estimated,.  .31,000 

1824, 12,016 

Add  the  adjoining  towns  of  Covington  and 
Newport,  whose  interests  .ire  identified,  and 
the  aggregate  population  will  equal  thirty-five 
thousand;  and,  in  all  reasonable  probability, 
in  1850,  these  towns,  with  Cincinnati,  will 
number  one  hundred  thousand  active,  edu- 
cated and  enterprising  citizens.  In  1826,  ac- 


OHIO.  219 

cording  to  the  "Picture  of  Cincinnati,"  by 
B.  Drake,  Esq.  and  E.  D.  Mansfield,  Esq., 
the  manufacturing  industry  alone,  according 
to  an  accurate  statistical  examination,  amount- 
ed to  $  1,800,000.  At  that  time,  there  were 
not  more  than  fifteen  steam-engines  employed 
in  manufactures,  in  the  city.  At  the  close  of 
1835,  there  were  more  than  fifty  in  successful 
operation,  besides  four  or  five  in  Newport  and 
Covington.  "More  than  one  hundred  steam- 
engines,  about  two  hundred  and  forty  cotton- 
gins,  upwards  of  twenty  sugar-mills,  and 
twenty-two  steam-boats  (many  of  them  of  the 
largest  size),  have  been  built  or  manufactured 
in  Cincinnati  during  the  year  1835."*  Hence 
the  productive  industry  of  Cincinnati,  Coving- 
ton  and  Newport,  for  1835,  may  be  estimated 
at  $5,000,000.  By  a  laborious  investigation, 
at  the  close  of  1826,  by  the  same  writer,  the 
exports  of  that  year  were  about  §1,000,000  in 
value.  A  similar  inquiry  induced  him  to  place 
the  exports  of  1832  at  $4,000,000.  The  esti- 
mate for  1835  is  $6,000,000. 

To  enumerate  all  the  public  and  private 
edifices  deserving  notice,  would  extend  this 
article  to  too  great  a  length.  The  court- 
house, four  market-houses,  banks,  college, 
Catholic  Athenaeum,  two  medical  colleges, 
mechanics'  institute,  two  museums,  hospital 
and  lunatics'  asylum,  the  Woodward  high 

*  See  a  valuable  statistical  article,  by  B.  Drake,  Esq.,  in 
the  Western  Monthly  Magazine,  for  January,  1836,  enti- 
tled, "  Cincinnati,  at  the  close  of  1835." 


220  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

school,  ten  or  twelve  large  edifices  for  free 
schools,  hotels,  and  between  twenty-five  and 
thirty  houses  for  public  worship,  some  of 
which  are  elegant,  deserve  notice.  The  type 
foundry  and  printing-press  manufactory,  is 
one  of  the  most  extensive  in  the  United 
States.  Here  is  machinery,  lately  invented, 
for  casting  printer's  types,  exceeding,  per- 
haps, any  thing  in  the  world.  Printing,  and 
the  manufacture  of  books,  are  extensively 
carried  on  in  this  city.  Here  are  six  large 
bookstores,  several  binderies,  twelve  or  fifteen 
printing-offices,  from  which  are  issued  ten 
weekly,  fourtri-weekly,  four  daily,  fourmonth- 
lyand  one  quarterly  publications.  Two  medical 
publications,  of  a  highly  respectable  charac- 
ter, are  issued.  The  Western  Monthly  Mag- 
azine is  too  well  known  to  need  special  notice 
here.  The  Cincinnati  Mirror  is  a  respectable 
literary  periodical.  The  Family  Magazine 
deserves  notice.  The  Presbyterians,  Baptists, 
Methodists,  Roman  Catholics,  and,  perhaps, 
other  sects,  have  each  their  weekly  paper, 
respectable  in  size  and  character.  During 
four  months,  in  1831,  there  were  issued  from 
the  Cincinnati  press,  86,000  volumes,  of 
which  20,300  were  original  works.  In  the 
same  period,  the  periodical  press  issued 
243,200  printed  sheets.  The  business  has 
increased  greatly  since  that  time. 

The  "  College  of  Professional  Teachers,"  is 
an  institution  formed  at  the  convention  of 
teachers,  held  in  this  city,  in  October,  1832. 


OHIO.  221 

Its  objects  are  to  unite  the  professional  instruc- 
tors of  youth  throughout  the  Western  coun- 
try in  the  cause  in  which  they  are  engaged, 
and  to  elevate  the  character  of  the  profession. 
Their  meetings  are  held  on  the  first  Monday 
in  October  annually.  Lectures  are  given, 
discussions  held,  reports  made,  and  a  respect- 
able volume  of  transaction  published  annual- 
ly. There  is  no  doubt  that  much  good  will 
result  to  the  cause  of  education  in  the  West, 
from  this  annual  convocation. 

Law  School.  An  institution  of  this  char- 
acter has  been  organized,  under  the  manage- 
ment of  Hon.  J.  C.  Wright,  and  other  gen- 
tlemen of  the  bar. 

Of  Medical  Schools  there  are  two,  at  the 
heads  of  which  are  gentlemen  of  high  char- 
acter and  attainments  in  their  profession. 

The  Mechanics'  Institute  is  designed  for  the 
diffusion  of  scientific  knowledge  among  the 
mechanics  and  citizens  generally,  by  means 
of  popular  lectures  and  mutual  instruction. 
The  Cincinnati  Lyceum  was  formed  for  the 
purpose  of  useful  instruction  and  entertain- 
ment, by  means  of  popular  lectures  and 
debates.  The  Academic  Institute  is  designed 
to  aid  the  cause  of  education  and  elevate  the 
profession  amongst  the  teachers  in  Cincinna- 
ti. Its  meetings  are  monthly.  The  Jlthenceum 
is  an  institution  under  the  management  of 
Roman  Catholic  priests.  The  college  edi- 
fice is  a  splendid  and  permanent  building,  of 
great  capacity.  The  Woodward  High  School 


222 

was  founded  by  the  late  William  Woodward. 
The  fund  yields  an  income  of  about  $2000 
annually.  It  is  conducted  by  four  professors, 
and  has  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  stu- 
dents. The  corporation  has  established  a  sys- 
tem of  free  schools,  designed  to  extend  the 
benefits  of  primary  education  to  all  classes, 
and  ten  or  twelve  large  edifices  have  been 
erected  for  the  purpose.  I  regret  the  want  of 
documents  to  give  particulars  of  this  liberal 
and  praiseworthy  enterprise,  which  reflects 
much  honor  upon  the  city  and  its  honorable 
corporation.  In  1833,  there  were  twenty 
public  schools  for  males  and  females,  and  two 
thousand  pupils.  Many  excellent  private 
schools  and  seminaries,  some  of  deserved 
celebrity,  are  sustained  by  individual  enter- 
prise. 

CoLU3iBus,  the  political  capital  of  the* 
State,  and  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  State, 
is  a  beautiful  city,  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Scioto  river.  In  1812,  it  was  covered  with  a 
dense  forest,  when  it  was  selected  by  the  leg- 
islature for  the  permanent  seat  of  govern- 
ment. The  public  buildings  are  a  state-house, 
a  court-house  for  the  Supreme  Court,  a 
building  for  the  public  offices,  a  market-house, 
8tc.,  all  of  brick.  The  State  penitentiary  is 
here,  for  which  a  new  substantial  building  is 
constructing,  and  an  Asylum  for  the  deaf  and 
dumb,  sustained  by  legislative  aid. 

Chillicothe,  Cleaveland,  Zanesville,  Steu- 
benville,  Circleville  and  many  others,  are 
large  and  flourishing  towns. 


OHIO.  223 

Education.  Charters  for  eight  or  ten  col- 
leges and  collegiate  institutions  have  been 
granted.  Congress  has  granted  92,800  acres 
of  public  land  to  this  State,  for  colleges  and 
academies.  One  township  (23,040  acres), 
and  a  very  valuable  one,  has  been  given  to 
the  Miami  university,  at  Oxford.  Two  town- 
ships of  land  (46,080  acres),  though  of  infe- 
rior quality,  have  been  given  to  the  Ohio 
university.  Academies  have  been  established 
in  most  of  the  principal  towns.  A  common 
school  system  has  been  established  by  the 
legislature.  Each  township  has  been  divided 
into  school  districts.  Taxes  are  levied  to  the 
amount  of  three  fourths  of  a  mill  upon  the 
dollar  of  taxable  property  in  the  State,  which, 
with  the  interest  accruing  from  the  different 
school  funds  already  noticed,  are  applied  to- 
wards the  expenses  of  tuition.  Five  school 
examiners  are  appointed  in  each  county,  by 
the  court  of  common  pleas,  who  are  to  ex- 
amine teachers.  The  governer,  in  his  recent 
message,  speaks  of  the  common  school  sys- 
tem as  languishing  in  proportion  to  other 
improvements. 

Form  of  Government.  The  legislative  au- 
thority is  vested  in  a  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives;  both  of  which,  collectively, 
are  styled  the  General  Assembly.  The  mem- 
bers of  both  branches  are  chosen  by  counties, 
or  by  districts  composed  of  counties,  accord- 
ing to  population.  The  representatives  are 
chosen  annually,  the  senators  biennially. 


224  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

The  General  Assembly  has  the  sole  power  of 
enacting  laws;  the  signature  or  assent  of  the 
governor  not  being  necessary  in  any  case 
whatever.  The  judiciary  system  comprises 
three  grades  of  courts; — the  Supreme  Court, 
courts  of  common  pleas,  and  Justices' 
courts.  The  justices  of  the  peace  are  chosen 
triennially,  by  the  people.  The  executive 
authority  is  vested  in  a  governor,  who  is 
elected  biennially,  and  must  be  thirty  years 
of  age,  and  have  resided  in  the  State  at  least 
four  years.  He  is  commander-in-chief  of  all 
the  militia,  and  commissions  all  officers  in 
the  State,  both  civil  and  military.  Each  free, 
white  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  a  resident  of  the 
State  one  year  preceding  an  election,  is 
entitled  to  a  vote  in  all  _elections. 

The  following  shows  the  professions,  occu- 
pations; and  nativity  of  the  members  of  the 
legislature  of  Ohio,  during  the  present  winter 
(1335-6),  and  is  about  a  proportionate  esti- 
mate for  other  Western  States: — 

The  members  of  the  Ohio  legislature,  as  to 
their  occupations  and  professions,  are: — farm- 
ers, fifty-eight;  lawyers,  seventeen;  merchants 
thirteen;  doctors,  five;  printers,  three;  sur- 
veyors, two;  millers,  two;  masons,  two;  car- 
penters, two;  painter,  one;  watch-maker,  one; 
blacksmith,  one;  house  joiner,  one. 

Their  nativity  is  as  follows: — Ohio,  seven; 
Pennsylvania,  thirty;  Virginia,  twenty-two; 
New  England  States,  seventeen;  Maryland, 


OHIO.  225 

eight;  New  York,  seven;  New  Jersey,  four; 
Kentucky,  three;  Delaware,  two;  North 
Carolina,  one;  Ireland,  five;  England,  one; 
Germany,  one. 

The  youngest  member  in  the  Senate,  is 
thirty-three  years  of  age,  and  the  oldest  fifty- 
six.  In  the  House,  the  youngest  twenty-six; 
oldest  sixty-seven.  Under  the  constitution, 
a  senator  must  be  thirty;  and  a  member  of 
the  House,  twenty-six. 

Antiquities.  Much  has  been  said  about  the 
antiquities  of  Ohio, —  the  fortifications,  arti- 
ficial mounds,  and  military  works,  supposed 
to  indicate  a  race  of  civilized  people,  as  the 
possessors  of  the  country,  anterior  to  the  In- 
dian nations.  At  Marietta,  Circleville,  Paint 
creek,  and  some  other  places,  are,  doubtless, 
antiquities,  that  exhibited  upon  their  first  dis- 
covery, strong  marks  of  a  military  purpose. 
I  have  no  doubt,  however,  that  credulity  and 
enthusiasm  have  greatly  exaggerated  many 
appearances  in  the  \Vest,  and  magnified  them 
into  works  of  vast  enterprise  and  labor. 
Mounds  of  earth  are  found  in  every  country 
on  the  globe,  of  all  forms  and  sizes;  and  why 
should  they  not  exist  in  the  western  valley  ? 
Mr.  Flint  states  that  he  has  seen  a  horse-shoe 
dug  up  at  the  depth  of  thirty-five  feet  below 
the  surface,  with  nails  in  it,  and  much  eroded 
by  rust.  He  mentions  also  a  sword,  which  is 
said  to  be  preserved  as  a  curiosity,  but 
which  he  had  not  seen,  found  enclosed  in  the 
wood  of  the  roots  of  a  tree,  which  could  not 
10* 


226  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

have  been  less  than  five  hundred  years  old  I 
Those  who  delight  especially  in  the  marvel- 
lous, may  consult  the  "Description  of  the 
Antiquities  discovered  in  the  State  of  Ohio 
and  other  Western  States,  by  Caleb  Atwater, 
Esq." 

History.  The  first  permanent  settlement  of 
Ohio,  was  made  at  Marietta,  April  7,  1788, 
by  forty-seven  persons  from  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut.  This  was 
the  nucleus  around  which  has  grown  up  the 
populous  State  of  Ohio.  Amongst  the  most 
active  promoters  of  this  colony,  were  those 
called  then  "The  Ohio  Company."  The 
next  settlement  was  that  of  Symmes'  purchase, 
made  at  Columbia,  six  miles  above  Cincinnati, 
in  November,  1789,  by  Major  Stites  and 
twenty-five  others,  under  the  direction  of 
Judge  Symmes.  A  colony  of  French  emi- 
grants settled  at  Gallipolis,  in  1791.  In  1796, 
settlements  were  made  by  New  England  emi- 
grants at  Cleaveland  and  Conneaut,  on  the 
southern  shore  of  lake  Erie.  The  intermedi- 
ate country  gradually  filled  up  by  emigration 
from  various  parts  of  the  United  States. 
Some  slight  diversity  exists,  in  different  sec- 
tions of  the  State,  in  manners,  customs  and 
feelings,  amongst  the  people,  in  accordance 
with  the  States  or  countries  from  which  they 
or  their  fathers  emigrated.  These  shades  of 
character  will  become  blended,  and  the  next 
generation  will  be  Ohions,  or,  to  use  their  own 
native  cognomen,  Buckeyes, 


OHIO.  227 

The  first  territorial  legislature  convened  at 
Cincinnati,  in  September,  1790.  The  gov- 
ernor having  exercised  his  right  of  veto  in  re- 
lation to  the  removal  of  a  county  seat,  an  un- 
happy collision  followed,  and,  upon  framing 
the  State  constitution,  in  November,  1802, 
the  convention  prevented  the  governor  of  the 
State  from  ever  exercising  the  negative  power 
upon  acts  of  the  legislature. 

Date  of  Organization  of  some  of  the  oldest  Counties. 

Washington, July  27,  1788 

Hamilton, Jan.   2,    1790 

Adams, .  . ' July  10,  1797 

Jefferson,.  . July  29,  1797 

Ross, Aug.  20,  1798 

Trumbull, July  18,  1800 

Clermont, Dec.   6,  1800 

Belmont, Sept.  7,  1801 

These  were  all  organized  under  the  territo 
rial  government. 


CHAPTER   XI. 


INDIANA. 

Boundaries  and  Extent — Counties — Population  at  different 
Periods — Face  of  the  Country — Sketch  of  each  County 
- — Form  of  Government — Finances — Internal  Improve- 
ments— Manufactures Education — History — General 

Remarks. 

LENGTH  two  hundred  and  forty,  breadth 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles;  between  37°  48' 
north  latitude,  and  7°  45'  and  11°  west  longi- 
tude; bounded  north  by  the  State  of  Michigan 
and  lake  Michigan,  east  by  Ohio,  south  by  the 
Ohio  river,  which  separates  it  from  Kentucky, 
and  west  by  Illinois.  It  contains  about  37,000 
square  miles,  equal  to  23,680,000  acres. 

It  is  naturally  subdivided  into  the  hilly  por- 
tion, bordering  on  the  Ohio;  the  level,  timber- 
ed portion,  extending  across  the  middle  of  the 
State;  the  Wabash  country,  on  that  river;  and 
the  northern  portion,  bordering  on  the  State 
of  Michigan  and  the  lake.  The  two  last  por- 
tions include  nearly  all  the  prairie  country. 

For  civil  purposes,  this  State  has  been  di- 
vided into  counties,  and  those  subdivided  into 
townships. 


INDIANA. 


229 


Table  of  Counties,  Seats  of  Justice,  fyc. 


Counties. 

Date  of 
Formation. 

2    0! 

go 
rjfE 

££ 

Seats  of  Justice. 

Allen, 

1823 
1821 
1830 
1828 
1829 
1802 
1825 
1830 
1818 
1816 
1802 
1821 
1827 
1817 
1830 
1818 
1819 
1825 
1810 
1813 
1831 
1821 
1823 
1828 
1808 
1823 
1821 
1832 
1815 
1809 
1816 
i!822 
1802 
1832 

720 
588 
400 
450 
460 
400 
360 
450 
350 
460 
448 
400 
440 
420 
576 
200 
200 
400 
400 
450 
415 
540 
400 
340 
470 
420 
440 
400 
500 
400 
400 
300 
540 
420 

1,000 
5,800 
622 
1,614 
1,154 
10,719 
1,616 
1,423 
3,184 
4,512 
14,573 
5,854 
2,372 
1,774 
935 
9,112 
6,363 
7,644 
10,199 
5,417 

4,250 
1,705 
1,569 

10,288 
3,967 
6,498 

Fort  Wayne. 
Columbus. 
Lebanon. 
Delphi. 
Logansport. 
Charlestowu. 
Bowling  Green. 
Frankfort. 
Fredonia. 
Washington. 
Lawrenceville. 
Greensburgh. 
Muncytown. 
Jasper. 
Goshen. 
Connersville. 
New  Albany. 
Covington. 
Brookville. 
Princeton. 
Marion. 
Bloornfield. 
Noblesville. 
Greenfield. 
Corydon. 
Danville. 
Newcastle. 

Brownstown. 
Madison. 
Vernon. 
Franklin 
VSncennes. 
La  Porte. 

Bartholomew,  .  .  . 
Boon,  

Carroll,    

Cass,  

Clark,   

Clay,    

Clinton,  
Crawford,  
Daviess,  
Dearborn,  

Delaware,    .     . 

Dubois,  .... 

Elkhart,    ...... 

Fayette,  

Floyd,  

Fountain,  
Franklin,    

Gibson, 

Grant, 

Greene,  
Hamilton,  
Hancock,  
Harrison,  

Hendricks,  
Henry,  
Huntington,  

4,894 
11,465 
3,950 
4,130 
6,557 

Jefferson,  

Johnson, 

La  Porte,  . 

230 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


Counties. 

Date  o 
Formation. 

II 

Xs 

a 

K 

Seats  of  Justice. 

Lagrange,  
Lawrence,  

1832 

1818 

380 
460 

9,237 

Mongoquinon. 
Bedford. 

1823 

420 

2,442 

Andersontown. 

Marion,  
Martin,       .            , 

1821 

1818 

440 
340 

7,181 
2,010 

INDIANOPOLTS. 
Mount  Pleasant. 

1832 

330 

Miamisport. 

Monroe,  

1818 

560 

6,578 

Bloomington. 

Montgomery,  .... 
Morgan,   

1822 
1821 

500 
530 

7,376 
5,579 

Crawfordsville. 
Martinsville. 

Orange,  

1815 
1818 

378 

380 

7,909 
4,060 

Paoli. 
Spencer. 

Parke,  

1821 

450 

7,534 

Rockville. 

Perry,  

1814 

400 

3,378 

Rome. 

Pike,  

1816 

430 

2,464 

Peter  sburgh. 

Posey, 

1814 

500 

6  883 

Mount  Vernon 

Putnam, 

1821 

490 

8  195 

Greencastle. 

Randolph,              . 

1818 

440 

3  912 

Winchester 

Ripley,  
Rush,   

1818 
1821 

400 
400 

3,957 
9,918 

Versailles. 
Rushville. 

Scott,    

1817 

?00 

3,097 

Lexington. 

Shelby,  

1821 

430 

6,294 

Shelbyville. 

Spencer, 

1818 

400 

3,187 

Rockport. 

St.  Joseph,  

1830 
1816 

740 
430 

287 
4,696 

South  Bend. 
Merom. 

Switzerland,  .... 
Tippecanoe,  .... 

1814 
1826 
1821 

300 
500 
224 

7,111 
7,161 
7,957 

Vevay. 
Lafayette. 
Liberty. 

Vanderburgh,  .... 

1818 

225 

2,610 

Evansville. 

Vermilion,  
Vi*o, 

1823 

1818 

280 
400 

5,706 
5,737 

Newport. 
Terre  Haute. 

Wabash,    
Warren,  
Warrick,  
Washington,  
Wavne,   . 

1832 
1828 
1813 
1813 
1810 

380 
350 
412 
550 
420 

2,854 
2,973 
13,072 
23.344 

Williamsport. 
Boonville. 
Salem. 
Centreville. 

INDIANA.  231 

The  total  population  is  1830  was  341,682; 
the  estimated  population  in  the  message  of 
Gov.  Noble,  to  the  legislature,  December, 
1835,  was  600,000. 

The  counties  in  which  the  population  has 
not  been  given  in  the  foregoing  table,  have 
been  formed  since  1830.  Probably  other  new 
counties,  along  the  waters  of  the  Wabash  and 
Kankakee,  have  been  formed  recently,  of 
which  no  intelligence  has  been  had  by  the 
author.  The  counties  in  the  northern  portion 
of  the  State  have  increased  the  most  in  popu- 
lation since  1830. 

For  electing  representatives  to  Congress, 
the  State  is  divided  into  seven  electoral  dis- 
tricts: for  judicial  purposes,  it  is  divided  into 
eight  circuits,  in  each  of  which  there  is  a  cir- 
cuit judge,  who,  together  with  two  associates 
in  each  county,  holds  the  circuit  courts. 

Population  at  Different  Periods. 

From  Increase. 

1800  to  1810,  .  .    21,879 

1810  "  1820,  .  .  122,658 

1820  "  1825,  .  .    74,822 

1825  "   1830,  .  .  119,582 

1830  "  1835,  .  .  258,418 


In  Population. 

1800   (excluding 

Illinois),  ....      2,641 

1810, 24,520 

1820, 147,178 

1825, 222,000 

1830, 341,582 

1835,  estimated,  600,000 


In  1825,  the  number  of  voters  was  36,977, 
and  the  number  of  paupers,  217. 

Face  of  the  Country,  fyc.  The  counties  bor- 
dering on  the  Ohio  river  are  hilly;  sometimes 
abrupt,  precipitous,  stony,  and  occasionally 


232  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

degenerating  into  knobs  and  ravines.  Com- 
mencing at  the  mouth  of  White  river,  on  the 
Wabash,  and  following  up  that  stream,  on  its 
east  fork,  and  thence  along  the  Muscatatack, 
through  Jennings  and  Ripley  counties,  to 
Lawrenceville,  and  you  leave  the  rough  and 
hilly  portion  of  Indiana  to  the  right.  Much 
of  the  country  we  have  denominated  hilly  is 
rich,  fertile  land,  even  to  the  summit  of  the 
hills.  On  all  the  streams  are  strips  of  rich 
alluvion  of  exhaustless  fertility.  The  interior, 
on  the  two  White  rivers  and  tributaries,  is 
moderately  undulating,  tolerably  rich  soil, 
and  much  of  it  heavily  timbered  with  oaks  of 
various  species,  poplar,  beech,  sugar-tree, 
walnut,  hickory,  elm  and  other  varieties  com- 
mon to  the  West.  There  is  much  level,  table 
land,  between  the  streams.  Along  the  Wa- 
bash, below  Terre  Haute,  is  an  undulating 
surface,  diversified  with  forest  and  prairie, 
having  a  soil  of  middling  quality,  interspersed 
with  some  very  rich  tracts.  Above  Terre 
Haute,  along  the  Wabash  and  its  tributa- 
ries, the  land  in  general  is  first  rate;  a  large 
proportion  forest,  interspersed  with  beautiful 
prairies.  The  timber  consists  of  oak  of  va- 
rious species,  poplar,  ash,  walnut,  cherry, 
sugar-tree,  buckeye,  hickory,  beech,  sassa- 
fras, linden,  honey-locust,  with  some  cotton- 
wood,  sycamore,  hackberry  and  mulberry  on 
the  bottom  lands.  The  undergrowth  is  spice- 
bush,  hazel,  plum,  crab-apple,  hawthorn  and 
vines.  Along  the  northern  part  of  the  State 


INDIANA.  233 

are  extensive  prairies  and  tracts  of  barrens, 
with  groves  of  various  kinds  of  timber,  and 
skirts  of  burr-oak.  Towards  lake  Michigan, 
and  along  the  Kankakee  and  St.  Joseph  rivers, 
are  lakes,  swamps  and  marshes. 

Rivers.  The  Ohio  meanders  along  the 
south-eastern  and  southern  parts  of  the  State 
for  350  miles.  The  east  and  west  forks  of 
White  river,  and  their  tributaries,  water  the 
interior  counties  for  100  miles  in  extent. 
They  are  both  navigable  streams  for  flat-boats 
during  the  spring  and  autumn  floods.  The 
Wabash  river  has  several  heads,  which  inter- 
lock with  the  waters  of  the  St.  Joseph  and  St. 
Mary's,  which  form  the  Maumee  of  lake 
Erie.  It  runs  a south-westwardly  course  across 
the  State,  to  Warren  county, — thence  south- 
wardly to  Vigo  county,  where  it  becomes  the 
boundary  between  Indiana  and  Illinois,  along 
which  it  meanders  to  the  Ohio,  which  it  enters 
twelve  miles  above  Shawneetown.  The  St. 
Joseph  of  lake  Michigan,  already  noticed 
under  the  State  of  Michigan,  makes  a  curve 
into  Elkhart  and  St.  Joseph  counties,  forming 
what  is  called  the  South  Bend.  The  Kankakee, 
which  is  the  longest  branch  of  Illinois  river, 
rises  in  Indiana,  near  the  South  Bend.  Some 
of  its  head  waters  interlock  with  those  of  Tip- 
pecanoe,  a  prominent  tributary  of  the  Wabash. 

Sketch  of  each  County.    The  following  sketch 

of  each  county,  its  streams,  surface,  soil  and 

minerals,   has  been  made   and  collated   with 

much  labor,  from  an  excellent  Gazetteer  of 

11 


234 

this  State,  published  in  1833,  by  Douglass  & 
Maguire,  of  Indianopolis,  from  personal  ob- 
servation of  many  of  the  older  counties,  and 
from  an  extensive  correspondence. 

Jllle.n. — Streams;  Saint  Joseph's  and  Saint 
Mary's,  which  form  the  Maumee  of  lake  Erie 
(navigable  for  small  keel-boats),  and  numer- 
ous creeks;  generally  heavily  timbered;  soil 
clay,  sandy  on  the  rivers. 

Bartlioleinew. — Streams;  Driftwood,  Clif- 
ty,  Flat  Rock,  and  Salt  Creeks, — all  mill 
streams.  Surface,  level;  soil,  a  rich  loam, 
mixed  with  sand  and  gravel;  the  western 
part  hilly,  with  clay  soil.  Minerals;  lime- 
stone, coal,  iron  ore,  red  ochre. 

Boon. — Watered  by  the  tributaries  of  Ra- 
coon and  Sugar  Creeks.  Surface,  level, — 
soil  rich. 

Carroll. — Streams;  Wabash  river,  Deer, 
Rock,  and  branches  of  Wildcat  creeks.  Con- 
siderable timber, — some  prairies,  of  which 
Deer  prairie  is  the  largest  and  most  beautiful. 
Considerable  quantities  of  limestone  on  the 
surface;  a  remarkable  spring  near  Delphi, — 
the  water  reddish. 

Cass. — Streams  are  Wabash  and  Eel  rivers, 
which  unite  at  Logansport, — the  head  of 
steam-boat  navigation  of  the  W^abash.  Sur- 
face, generally  level,  rolling  towards  the 
rivers  with  abrupt  bluffs;  soil,  near  the  rivers, 
a  mixture  of  loam  and  sand;  at  a  distance 
from  them,  flat  and  clayey.  Large  proportion 
forest  land, — some  prairies. 


INDIANA.  235 

Clark. — Silver  and  Fourteen  Mile  creeks 
furnish  excellent  mill  sites.  Ohio  river  on 
the  south.  Surface,  rolling  and  hilly;  soil, 
loam,  mixed  with  sand.  Minerals;  limestone, 
gypsum,  water  lime,  marble,  salt,  iron  ore, 
copperas,  alum. 

Clay. — Eel  river  and  tributaries.  Surface 
moderately  undulating;  soil  various,  chiefly 
clay  and  loam,  and  a  mixture  of  sand,  in 
places;  timber  predominates, — some  prairies. 

Clinton.— Watered  by  the  South,  Middle, 
and  Kilmore's  Forks  of  Wildcat  creek.  Sur- 
face, moderately  undulating,  or  level:  Twelve 
Mile  prairie  extends  from  south-west  to  north- 
east twelve  miles,  and  is  three  fourths  of  a 
mile  wide.  Theremaindertimberedland.  Soil, 
a  rich  sandy  loam,  and  exceedingly  fertile. 

Crawford. — Waters;  the  Ohio  and  Blue 
rivers, — plenty  of  water  power,  and  excellent 
springs.  Surface,  hilly  and  broken;  in  places, 
tolerably  productive;  in  others,  soil  thin  and 
rocky.  A  timbered  region,  and  abundance  of 
limestone. 

Daviess. — Streams;  Forks  of  White  river, 
with  its  tributaries,  Smother's,  Prairie,  Veal, 
Aikman's  and  Sugar  creeks.  Level  bottoms 
on  the  rivers — sometimes  inundated;  undula- 
ting on  the  high  grounds.  Soil  on  the  West 
Fork,  sandy;  much  timber, — an  extensive 
tract  of  sugar  tree;  some  prairies.  The 
county  destitute  of  rock  near  the  surface; 
plenty  of  lime  arid  sandstone  in  the  bed  of 
West  Fork  of  White  river,  at  the  rapids. 
Plenty  of  coal. 


236  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Dearborn. — Watered  by  the  Great  Miami, 
Whitewater,  Laugliery,  Hogan's  and  Tan- 
ner's creeks.  Surface  hilly  and  broken,  with 
rich,  level,  bottom  lands,  on  the  Miami.  Soil, 
one  fourth  first  rate,  one  fourth  second  rate, 
— remainder  inferior.  A  timbered  region. 

Decatur. — Flat  Rock,  Clifty,  and  Sand 
creeks,  are  all  good  mill  streams.  Surface, 
generally  level, — some  parts  undulating;  soil, 
loam,  with  a  substratum  of  clay;  well  adapt- 
ed to  grain,— timbered.  Minerals;  limestone, 
some  iron  ore  and  coal. 

Delaware. — Streams;  Missisinawa,  and 
West  Fork  of  White  river;  surface  tolera- 
bly level;  soil,  loam,  mixed  with  sand.  Min- 
erals; some  limestone,  and  granite  bowlders 
scattered  over  the  surface. 

Dubois. — Streams;  East  Fork  of  White 
river,  Patoka  and  Anderson  creeks.  Surface 
rolling, — some  parts  hilly  and  broken, — some 
level  tracts;  soil,  rich  and  sandy  loam  near 
the  streams.  Minerals;  sandrock  and  coal. 

Elkliart. — Watered  by  St.  Joseph  of  lake 
Michigan,  Elkhart  and  tributaries.  Surface, 
generally  level, — a  portion  undulating;  soil 
various,  but  generally  rich;  forest  and  prairie, 
both  wet  and  dry. 

Fayette. — Watered  by  the  West  Fork  of 
Whitewater,  and  a  small  lake  in  the  north. 
Surface,  undulating;  soil,  on  the  high  ground, 
clayey,  and  a  mixture  of  sand,— on  the  bottom 
lands,  a  rich,  sandy  loam.  Limestone  found 
in  masses  and  quarries. 


INDIANA.  237 

Floyd. — Watered  by  the  Ohio  river,  Silver 
creek,  and  some  head  branches  of  Big  and 
Little  Indian  creeks.  Surface  various, — a 
range  of  knobs, — east  of  these  knobs,  it  is 
gently  undulating;  soil  inferior.  Minerals; 
shale,  soft  sandstone,  limestone,  freestone, 
iron  ore,  and  some  traces  of  coal.  A  boiling 
spring,  from  which  is  emitted  an  inflammable 
gas. 

Fountain. — Watered  by  the  Wabash  river, 
and  Coal  and  Shawnee  creeks,  with  numerous 
mill  sites.  Surface,  gently  undulating;  soil, 
a  black  loam,  mixed  with  sand  and  very  rich. 
Minerals;  coal,  and  some  sandstone. 

Franklin. — Watered  by  the  East  and  West 
Forks  of  Whitewater.  Surface,  on  the  east- 
ern part  level, — western,  rolling;  soil,  in  the 
central  and  northern  parts,  a  black  loam, — in 
the  south-west,  thin  and  clayey. 

Gibson. — Watered  by  the  Wabash,  White, 
and  Patoka  rivers.  Surface,  rolling  and  tim- 
bered; soil,  generally  a  sandy  loam,  and  pro- 
ductive. 

Grant. — Watered  by  the  Missisinawa  and 
tributaries.  Surface  level, — generally  heavily 
timbered;  soil,  clay  and  loam  on  the  table 
lands, — sandy  on  the  river  bottoms. 

Green. — Watered  by  White  and  Eel  rivers, 
and  Richland  creek;  soil,  on  the  river?,  a  rich 
loam, — on  the  bluffs,  sandy, — east  side,  hilly, 
— west  side,  level.  White  river  is  navigable. 
Minerals;  lime  and  sandstone,  coal,  and  some 
iron  ore. 


238 


Hamilton. — The  streams  are  White  river, 
and  Cicero,  Coal,  Stoney,  and  Fall  creeks. 
Generally  forest, — some  few  prairies;  soil,  in 
places,  clay, — more  generally,  a  sandy  loam. 
Minerals;  lime,  and  some  soft  sand  rock. 

Hancock. — Watered  by  Blue  river,  Sugar 
and  Brandywine  creeks,  with  excellent  mill 
sites,  and  well  supplied  with  springs.  Sur- 
face, either  level  or  gently  undulating;  soil, 
a  rich  loam,  mixed  with  sand, — heavily  tim- 
bered. 

Harrison. — Watered  by  Big  and  Little  In- 
dian, and  Buck  creeks,  and  Blue  river.  Sur- 
face various, — some  parts  hilly  and  broken, — 
some  parts  undulating, — some  parts  level; 
soil,  in  the  low  grounds,  a  rich  loam, — on  the 
high  grounds,  calcareous  and  gravelly.  A 
large  tract  of  "barrens."  in  the  ,west.  Min- 
erals; a  quarry  and  several  caves  of  black 
flint,  salt  licks,  limestone. 

Hendricks. — The  waters  are  White  Lick, 
and  branches  of  Eel  river,  with  good  mill 
sites.  Surface,  gently  rolling,  and  timbered 
with  the  varieties  of  the  Wabash  country; 
soil,  a  mixture  of  clay,  loam  and  sand. 

Henry. — Watered  by  Blue  river,  Flat  Rock 
and  Fall  creeks.  Surface,  in  some  places, 
broken, — in  most  parts,  level:  soil,  a  mixture 
of  sand  with  loam  and  clay.  Plenty  of  springs 
and  mill  sites.  Mostly  timbered,  but  several 
tracts  of  prairie. 

Huntington. — The  streams  are  Salamania, 
Little  river,  and  Wabash.  Surface,  on  the 


INDIANA.  239 

rivers,  level, — back,  gently  undulating;  soil, 
loam  and  clay,  with  a  slight  mixture  of  sand. 
Several  tracts  of  prairie,  but  generally  forest 
land. 

Jackson. — Watered  by  Indian,  Driftwood, 
White,  Muscatatack,  and  Gum  creeks.  Sur- 
face, rolling  and  in  places  hilly;  soil,  clay 
and  loam,  mixed  with  sand.  In  the  forks  of 
the  creeks,  sand  predominates.  On  the  west 
and  north-west,  inclined  to  clay. 

Jefferson. — Watered  by  the  Ohio  river, 
Indian-Kentucky  and  Big  creeks.  Surface 
various;  along  the  river  and  creeks,  low  allu- 
vion; soil,  loam  mixed  with  sand.  The  bot- 
toms are  bounded  by  precipitous  bluffs,  with 
towering  cliffs  of  limestone.  The  table  lands 
are  undulating,  and  the  soil  inclined  to  clay. 
Timber  various.  Abounds  with  limestone, 
masses  of  freestone,  and  scattered  granite 
bowlders. 

Johnson. — Watered  on  the  eastern  side  by 
Blue  river,  and  Sugar  and  Young's  creeks, — 
on  the  western  side  by  Indian,  Crooked,  and 
Stott's  creeks.  Surface,  gently  undulating; 
soil,  a  rich,  black,  sandy  loam;  timbered. 
Minerals;  masses  of  freestone,  and  scattered 
granite  bowlders. 

Jennings. — Watered  by  Graham's  Fork, 
and  the  North  Fork  of  the  Muscatatack. 
Surface,  in  some  parts  level,  some  parts  very 
hilly;  soil,  calcareous,  rich  and  productive; 
timber  of  all  varieties;  abounds  with  lime- 
stone. 


240  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

^H   «,  •    ^  1 

Knox. — The  Wabash  on  the  west  side, — 
White  river  south, — the  West  Fork  of  White 
river  east, — and  Maria  and  Duchatn  creeks, 
interior.  Surface  undulating;  soil,  somewhat 
various, — a  rich  loam  in  places, — sandy  in 
other  places; — some  tracts  of  prairie,  but 
timber  predominates. 

Tiagrange, — Watered  by  Pigeon  and  Crook- 
ed rivers.  Surface,  gently  rolling;  northern 
part  extensive  prairies;  southern  portion  chief- 
ly forest;  soil,  loam  and  sand. 

La  Porte. — Watered  by  the  Kankakee, 
Galena,  and  Trail  creek,  at  the  mouth  of 
which  is  Michigan  city  and  a  harbor  for  lake 
Michigan  commerce.  Surface,  gently  undu- 
lating; abounds  with  large,  rich  prairies,  with 
groves  of  timber,  and  lakes  of  clear  water 
interspersed;  soil,  a  sandy  loam,  rich  and 
productive. 

Laivrence. — Watered  by  Salt,  Indian, 
Guthrie's,  Beaver,  and  Leatherwood  creeks, 
and  excellent  springs.  Surface,  generally 
hilly, — some  level  lands; — soil,  on  the  water 
courses,  sandy, — back  from  the  streams,  loam 
and  clay.  Abounds  with  limestone. 

Madison. — The  West  Fork  of  White  river 
is  navigable.  The  other  streams  are  Killbuck, 
Pipe,  Lick  and  Fall  creeks.  Surface,  gener- 
ally level,  with  some  broken  land  near  the 
streams;  timbered,  with  a  wet  prairie,  seven 
miles  long  and  three  fourths  of  a  mile  wide; 
soil,  sand,  mixed  with  clay  and  loam, — pro- 
ductive. Minerals;  lime  and  freestone, 


INDIANA.  241 

marble  that  polishes  well,   and  some  traces  of 
iron  ore. 

Marion. — West  Fork  of  White  river  passes 
through  it,  on  which  is  situated  INDIANOPOLIS, 
the  capital  of  the  State.  Fall  creek  is  an  ex- 
cellent mill  stream.  Surface,  chiefly  level 
forest  land;  soil,  a  deep  black  loam,  with  a 
mixture  of  sand.  Large  granite  bowlders  are 
scattered  over  the  surface. 

Martin. — The  East  Fork  of  White  river 
passes  through  it,  and  receives  Lost  river 
from  the  left,  and  Indian  and  Flint  creeks  from 
the  right.  Surface,  on  the  east  side  of  White 
river,  broken  and  hilly;  soil,  clay  and  loam; 
on  the  west  side,  level,  or  gently  undulating, 
with  portions  of  barrens  and  prairie  land;  soil, 
clay  and  loam,  mixed  with  sand.  Minerals; 
coal  in  large  quantities,  lime,  sand  and  free- 
stone. 

Miami. — The  W abash  and  Eel  rivers  pass 
through  it,  and  the  Missisinawa  comes  from 
the  east,  and  enters  the  Wabash  about  the 
centre  of  the  county.  The  Wabash  and  Erie 
canal  passes  through  it.  Surface,  gently  un- 
dulating and  beautiful, — chiefly  forest,  and 
interspersed  with  small  prairies;  soil,  the  rich- 
est in  the  State,  of  loam,  clay  and  sand  inter- 
mixed. 

Monroe. — Streams;  Salt,  Clear,  Indian, 
Racoon,  Richland,  and  Bean-blossom  creeks, 
— pure  springs.  Surface,  hilly  and  undula- 
ting; soil,  second  rate.  Minerals;  limestone 
rock,  salt  licks,  with  manufactories  of  salt. 


242  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Montgomery. — The  heads  of  Shawnee  and 
Coal  creeks  in  the  north-west, — Sugar  creek 
in  the  centre, — and  Big  Racoon  on  the  south- 
eastern part.  Surface,  gently  undulating; 
the  northern  portion  prairie,  interspersed  with 
groves,  with  a  rich  soil  of  black  loam,  mixed 
with  sand, — the  middle  and  southern  portions 
timbered.  Excellent  quarries  of  rock  in  the 
middle, — granite  bowlders  in  the  northern 
parts. 

Morgan. — White  river,  which  is  navigable. 
The  mill  streams  are  White  Lick,  Sycamore, 
Highland,  and  Lamb's  creeks  on  the  west 
side,  and  Crooked,  Stott's,  Clear,  and  Indian 
creeks  on  the  east  side.  Surface,  generally 
rolling, — some  parts  hilly;  soil,  calcareous 
and  clayey, — on  the  bottoms,  a  rich  sandy 
loam.  Minerals;  limestone,  and  some  iron 
ore. 

Orange. — Streams;  Lost  river,  French 
Lick,  and  Patoka.  Surface,  hilly  and  broken, 
— limestone  rock, — springs  of  water,  of  which 
Half-moon  and  French  Lick  are  curiosities. 
On  the  alluvial  bottoms,  the  soil  is  loamy, — on 
the  hills,  calcareous,  and  inclined  to  clay. 
Excellent  stones  for  grit,  equal  to  the  Turkey 
oil  stones  are  found  in  this  county. 

Owen. — Watered  by  the  West  Fork  of 
White  river,  with  its  tributaries,  Racoon, 
Indian,  Mill,  Rattlesnake,  and  Fish  creeks. 
The  falls  of  Eel  river  furnish  the  best  water 
power  in  the  State.  Surface  rolling;  soil,  in 
some  places  a  dark  loam, — in  others  clayey 


INDIANA.  243 

and  calcareous.  Minerals;  immense  bodies  of 
lime  rock,  and  some  iron  ore. 

Parke. — Watered  by  the  Big  and  Little 
Racoon,  and  Sugar  creeks  (with  excellent 
mill  sites),  all  of  which  enter  the  Wabash  on 
its  western  side.  Surface,  generally  level, — 
some  beautiful  prairies,  but  mostly  forest  land; 
soil,  a  loam,  mixed  with  sand,  and  rich.  Mine- 
rals; lime  and  sandstone,  coal  and  iron  ore. 

Perry. — Watered  by  the  Ohio  river,  with 
Anderson's,  Bear,  Poison,  and  Oil  creeks  in- 
terior. Some  level  land,  with  a  rich,  sandy 
loam,  on  the  streams, — all  the  high  lands  very 
broken;  hilly,  with  a  clayey,  sterile  soil. 
Minerals;  immense  bodies  of  limestone,  grind- 
stone quarries,  iron  ore  and  coal. 

Pike — has  White  river  on  the  north,  and 
Patoka  creek  through  the  centre.  Surface 
all  forest  land  and  undulating;  soil,  eastern 
part  clay  and  sand, — western,  a  rich,  dark 
loam,  mixed  with  sand, — some  swampy  land. 
Minerals;  limestone  and  coal. 

Posey. — In  the  forks  of  the  Ohio  and  Wa- 
bash, with  Big,  Mill,  and  McFadden's  creeks 
interior,  and  good  springs.  Surface,  rolling, 
and  all  forest  land;  soil,  a  sandy  loam,  and 
produces  well.  Minerals;  sand,  and  lime- 
stone, and  coal. 

Putnam — has  Racoon  creek,  and  Eel 
river,  with  abundant  water  privileges,  and  fine 
springs.  Surface,  gently  undulating;  soil,  in 
places  calcareous  and  clayey, — in  other 
places  a  rich  loam;  limestone. 


244  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Randolph. — Water  courses;  the  West  Fork 
of  White  river  and  Missisinawa  and  their 
tributaries,  which  furnish  good  mill  sites. 
Surface,  either  level  or  gently  undulating; 
soil,  a  rich  loam, — in  some  places  marshy; 
a  small  quantity  of  limestone,  with  granite 
bowlders. 

Ripley. — Watered  by  Laughery  and  Gra- 
ham's creek.  Surface,  level,  forest  land;  soil 
clay, — in  some  parts  inclines  to  sand, — with 
limestone  abundant. 

Rush. — The  streams  are  Big  and  Little  Blue 
river,  Big  and  Little  Flat  Rock,  with  excellent 
water  power.  Surface,  moderately  rolling, 
and  heavily  timbered;  soil,  loam  on  clay,  with 
a  slight  mixture  of  sand. 

Scott. — Watered  by  tributaries  of  the  Mus- 
catatack.  Surface  rolling, — some  flat  lands, 
inclining  to  marsh;  soil,  clay;  minerals,  lime- 
stone, iron  ore,  salt,  sulphur  and  copperas. 

Shelby. — Watered  by  Big  and  Little  Blue 
river,  Brandywine  and  Sugar  creeks,  with 
good  mill  sites, — all  heads  of  the  east  fork  of 
White  river.  Surface,  generally  level,  with 
forest  land;  soil,  clay,  mixed  with  loam. 

Spencer. — Ohio  river,  Anderson's,  Little 
Pigeon  and  Sandy  creeks.  Surface  tolerably 
level,  and  forest  land;  soil,  clay,  mixed  with 
loam:  minerals;  coal,  lime,  and  sandrock. 

St  Joseph. — St.  Joseph's  river,  Kankakee 
and  Bobango,  with  some  small  creeks;  exten- 
sive marshes  on  the  Kankakee,  and  near  the 
South  Bend  of  the  St.  Joseph.  These  marshes 


INDIANA.  245 

are  of  vegetable  formation.  Surface,  in  some 
parts  level,  in  others,  gently  undulating;  soil, 
a  loam,  in  some  places  sand.  The  north-west 
part  chiefly  prairies  and  barrens,  including 
the  large  and  fertile  prairies  of  Portage  and 
Terre  Coupee.  The  north-eastern,  barrens; 
the  south-eastern,  forest.  Minerals,  granite 
bowlders  and  bog-iron  ore. 

Sullivan — has  the  Wabash  river  on  its  west- 
ern side,  and  Turman's,  Busseron  and  Turtle 
creeks,  interior.  Surface,  rolling; — some 
prairies,  but  generally  forest  land, — some 
poor  barrens;  soil,  loam  and  sand; — lime, 
sandrock  and  coal. 

Switzerland. — The  Ohio  east  and  south, — 
Indian,  Plum,  Bryant's,  Turtle  and  Grant's 
creeks,  interior.  Surface,  various, — bottom 
lands  level  and  rich. — then  a  range  of  precip- 
itous bluffs,  with  cliffs  of  limestone, — the  table 
land  rolling,  with  a  calcareous  and  clayey  soil. 
At  Vevay  are  extensive  vineyards. 

Tippecanoe. — Watered  by  the  Wabash 
river,  and  Wildcat,  WTea,  Burnett's  and  Mill 
Branch  creeks.  The  WTabash  affords  naviga- 
tion, and  the  other  streams  excellent  mill 
sites.  Surface  gently  undulating,  with  exten- 
sive level  tracts,  and  consists  of  one  half  prai- 
rie, one  eighth  barrens,  and  the  remainder 
heavy  forest  land.  The  prairie  soil  is  a  rich, 
black  loam, — the  barrens  cold,  wet  clay, — the 
forest  a  very  rich  loam  and  sand. 

Union. — Streams;  the  East  Fork  of  White 
river  and  its  tributaries,  Hanna's,  Richland 


246 


and  Silver  creeks,  all  of  which  furnish  excel- 
lent mill  sites.  Surface,  moderately  rolling; 
soil,  a  dark  loam. 

Vanderburgfi. — Watered  by  the  Ohio  and 
Great  Pigeon  creek.  Surface,  high,  dry, 
rolling  land,  with  good  timber,  and  well  wa- 
tered; soil,  clay  and  sand,  of  inferior  quality. 
Minerals;  lime  and  sandstone,  salines  and  a 
mineral  spring. 

Vermilion. — A  long,  narrow  county,  be- 
tween the  W abash  river  and  the  State  of  Il- 
linois. The  streams  are  Wabash,  Big  and 
Little  Vermilion,  and  their  tributaries.  Sur- 
face high,  rolling  land,  with  abrupt  bluffs  near 
the  streams;  a  good  proportion  of  prairie  and 
timber;  soil,  rich,  sandy  loam,  and  very  pro- 
ductive. Minerals;  freestone,  limestone,  and 
large  coal  banks. 

Vigo. — The  Wabash  passes  through  it, — 
navigable.  The  mill  streams  are  Prairie, 
Honey,  Otter  and  Sugar  creeks,  but  their 
waters  fail  in  a  dry  season.  Surface  level,  or 
gently  undulating,  with  forest  and  prairies; 
soil,  first  rate,  rich  loam  and  sand.  Minerals; 
gray  limestone,  freestone,  and  inexhaustible 
beds  of  coal. 

Wabash. — The  Wabash  river,  and  \Vabash 
and  Erie  canal,  pass  through  it,  as  does  the 
Missisinawa,  Eel,  Bluegrass  and  Salamania. 
Surface,  wide,  rich  bottoms  on  the  streams; 
bluffs  and  ravines  adjoining;  table  lands  fur- 
ther back,  either  dry  and  rolling,  or  flat  and 
wet,  and  abounding  with  willow  swamps. 


INDIANA.  247 

Limestone    rock  abundant,   and  many  excel- 
lent springs  of  pure  water. 

Warren. — The  Wabash  on  the  south-east 
border  for  thirty  miles,  and  navigated  by 
steam-boats;  interior  streams,  Rock,  Red- 
wood, and  Big  and  Little  Pine  creeks,  all  of 
which  afford  good  mill  sites;  some  pine  and 
cedar  timber.  Surface  generally  level,  with 
broken  land  on  the  bluffs  of  creeks;  some 
forest,  but  the  largest  proportion  prairie;  soil, 
a  rich  and  very  fertile  loam.  Minerals;  lime 
and  excellent  freestone  for  building  purposes, 
coal,  iron,  lead  and  copper,  with  several  old 
"  diggings  "  and  furnaces,  where  copper  and 
lead  ore  have  been  smelted  in  early  times. 

Warrick. — Watered  by  the  Ohio  river,  Big 
and  Little  Pigeon  and  Cypress.  Surface, 
rolling  and  hilly;  soil,  a  sandy  loam,  on  clay. 
Minerals;  quarries  of  freestone,  some  lime- 
stone, and  inexhaustible  beds  of  coal. 

Washington. — Streams;  Muscatatack,on  the 
north,  Rush,  Twin,  Highland,  Delany's,  Elk, 
Bear  and  Sinking  creeks,  and  the  heads  of 
Blue  and  Lost  rivers,  and  mill  sites.  Surface, 
diversified,  from  gentle  undulations,  to  lofty 
and  precipitous  hills;  soil,  in  part,  second  rate, 
with  much  of  inferior  quality:  substratum  of 
limestone;  caves,  hollows  and  sink-holes. 

Wayne. — Streams;  East  and  West  Forks  of 
Whitewater,  with  excellent  water-power  for 
machinery.  Surface,  moderately  hilly,  heavy 
forest  land ;  soil,  a  rich  loam ;  substratum,  clay. 
Minerals;  generally  limestone,  excellent  for 
building. 


248  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Form  of  Government.  This  differs  very  little 
from  that  of  Ohio.  The  constitution  provides 
that  an  enumeration  be  made  every  five  years 
of  all  free  white  male  inhabitants,  above  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years;  and  the  representa- 
tion of  both  houses  of  the  General  Assembly 
is  apportioned  by  such  enumeration,  in  such 
ratio  that  the  number  of  representatives  shall 
never  be  less  than  thirty-six,  nor  exceed  one 
hundred,  and  the  number  of  senators  not  ex- 
ceeding one  half  nor  less  than  one  third  the 
number  of  representatives.  Every  free  white 
male  citizen,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who 
has  resided  in  the  State  one  year,  is  entitled 
to  vote;  "  except  such  as  shall  be  enlisted  in 
the  army  of  the  United  States,  or  their  allies," 
Elections  are  held  annually,  by  ballot,  on  the 
first  Monday  in  August.  The  governor,  lieu- 
tenant governor  and  senators,  hold  their  offi- 
ces for  three  years.  The  judiciary  is  vested 
in  a  Supreme  Court,  in  circuit  courts,  probate 
courts,  and  justices  of  the  peace.  The  Su- 
preme Court  consists  of  three  judges,  who  are 
appointed  by  the  governor,  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  Senate,  for  the  term  of 
seven  years,  and  have  appellate  jurisdiction. 
The  circuit  courts  consist  of  a  presiding  judge 
in  each  judicial  circuit,  elected  by  joint  ballot 
of  both  houses  of  the  General  Assembly,  and 
two  associate  judges  in  each  county,  elected 
by  the  qualified  voters,  in  their  respective 
counties,  for  a  like  term.  The  probate  courts 
consist  of  one  judge  for  each  county,  who 


INDIANA.  249 

is  elected  by  the  voters,  for  the  same  term. 
Justices  of  the  peace  are  elected  ia  each 
township,  for  the  term  of  five  years,  and  have 
jurisdiction,  in  criminal  cases,  throughout  the 
county,  but  in  all  civil  cases,  throughout  the 
township. 

Finances.  The  Indiana  Gazetteer,  of  1833, 
estimates  that  the  revenue  for  State  purposes, 
amounted  to  about  $35,000  annually;  and,  for 
county  purposes,  to  about  half  that  sum.  The 
aggregate  receipts  for  1835,  according  to  the 
governor's  message  of  Dec.  1835,  amounted 
to  $107,714;  expenditures  for  the  same  time, 
$103,901.  Sales  of  canal  lands  for  the  same 
period,  $175,740.  The  canal  commissioners 
have  borrowed  $605,257,  for  canal  purposes, 
on  a  part  of  which  they  obtained  two  per  cent, 
premium,  and,  on  another  part,  as  high  as 
seven  per  cent.;  and  have  also  borrowed 
$450,000  bank  capital,  for  which  they  receiv- 
ed four  and  a  half  per  cent,  premium.  Three 
per  cent,  on  all  sales  of  United  States  lands 
within  the  State  is  paid  by  the  general  gov- 
ernment into  the  State  treasury,  to  be  expend- 
ed in  making  roads.  The  receipts  from  this 
source,  in  1835,  amounted  to  $24,398.  Sales 
and  rents  of  saline  lands,  produced  an  income 
of  $4,636.  The  proceeds  of  certain  lands, 
donated  by  the  general  government  towards 
the  construction  of  a  road  from  the  Ohio  river 
to  lake  Michigan,  amounted  to  $33,030. 

Internal  Improvements.  This  State  has  en- 
tered with  great  spirit  upon  a  system  of  inter- 
11* 


250  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

nal  improvements.  It  consists  of  canaling, 
improving  river  navigation,  rail-roads,  and 
common  turnpike-roads. 

Wabash  and  Erie  Canal.  This  work  will 
extend  from  Lafayette,  on  the  Wabash  river, 
up  the  valley  of  that  stream,  to  the  Maumee, 
and  to  the  boundary  of  Ohio,  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  five  miles.  The  cost  of  construc- 
tion has  been  estimated  at  $1,081,970,  and 
lands  to  the  amount  of  355,200  acres,  have 
been  appropriated  by  the  general  government, 
the  proceeds  of  which  will  be  sufficient  to  com- 
plete the  canal  to  Fort  Wayne.  The  middle 
division,  thirty-two  miles,  was  completed  in 
July,  1835,  and  the  remainder  is  in  active 
progress.  Its  whole  distance,  through  a  part 
of  Ohio,  to  Maumee  bay,  at  the  west  end  of 
lake  Erie,  will  be  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven  miles. 

The  Whitewater  Canal,  seventy-six  miles 
in  length,  along  the  western  branch  of  White- 
water, is  intended  to  pass  through  Conners- 
ville,  Brookville,  Somerset  and  other  towns, 
to  Lawrenceburgh,  on  the  Ohio  river. 

Provision  is  made  to  improve  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Wabash  river,  in  conjunction  with 
Illinois,  where  it  constitutes  the  boundary 
line;  and  by  this  State  alone,  further  up. 

Synopsis  of  canals  surveyed  by  order  of  the 
Indiana  legislature,  in  1835. — Lafayette  and 
Terre  Haute  division  of  the  Wabash  and 
Erie  canal;  length,  ninety  miles;  total  cost, 
$1,067,914  70;  per  mile,  $11,865  79. 


INDIANA.  251 

Central  Canal,  north  of  Indianopolis:  total 
length  from  Indianopolis,  by  the  way  of  An- 
dersontown,  Pipe  creek  summit,  to  the  Wa- 
bash  and  Erie  canal,  at  Wabash  town,  one 
hundred  and  three  miles,  thirty-four  chains; 
total  cost,  $1,992,22454;  per  mile,  $17,106 
51: — length,  by  the  way  of  Pipe  creek  sum- 
mit, to  Peru,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Missisi- 
nawa,  one  hundred  and  fourteen  miles,  forty- 
six  chains;  total  cost,  §1,897,797  19;  per 
mile,  $14,871  85: — length,  by  the  way  of  Pipe 
creek  summit  (including  lateral  canal  to  Mun- 
cytown),  to  Wabash  town,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  miles,  fifty-one  chains;  total  cost, 
$2,103,15361;  perrnile,  $15,873  83:— length, 
by  the  way  of  Pipe  creek  summit  (including 
lateral  canal  to  Muncytown),  to  Peru,  one 
hundred  and  eighty-five  miles,  sixty-three 
chains;  total  cost,  $2,008,726  26;  per  mile, 
$14,793  12.— Total  length,  from  Indianopolis, 
by  the  way  of  Muncytown,  to  the  Wabash 
and  Erie  canal,  at  Peru,  one  hundred  and 
thirty-one  miles,  forty-one  chains;  total  cost, 
$2,058,929  41 ;  per  mile,  $14,549  71.  Cen- 
tral canal,  south  of  Indianopolis:  total  length, 
from  Indianopolis  to  Evansville,  one  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  miles;  total  cost,  $2,642,285 
92;  per  mile,  $14,054  71.  Route  down  the 
valley  of  Main  Pigeon, — length,  one  hundred 
and  ninety-four  miles;  total  cost,  $2,400,957 
70;  per  mile,  $12,376  02. 

Terre   Haute   and  Eel  river    Canal,    which 
forms  a  connexion  between  the  W^ abash  and 


252  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Erie  canal  and  White  river  or  Central  canal: 
total  length,  forty  miles  and  a  half;  total  cost, 
$629,631  65;  which,  including  a  feeder,  is 
$13,540  46  per  mile. 

Wabash  and  Erie  Canal,  eastern  division, 
(east  of  Fort  Wayne);  upper  line, — length, 
nineteen  miles,  thirty  chains;  total  cost, 
$154,11313;  permile/$7,952  17:  lower  line, 
— total  length,  twenty  miles,  seventy-six  and 
a  half  chains;  total  cost,  §254,817  52;  per 
mile,  $11,159  04. 

The  following  are  the  works  provided  for  in 
the  bill,  and  the  sums  appropriated  for  them: 

1.  The    Whitewater  canal,  including  a 
lateral  caiial  or  rail-road,  to  connect 
said  canal  with  the  Central  or  White 

river  canal, $1,400,000 

2.  Central  or  White  river  canal, 3,500,000 

3.  Extension   of  the  Wabash  and  Erie 

canal,    1,300,000 

4.  Madison  and  Lafayette  rail-road,.  .  .       1,300,000 

5.  M'Adamized  turnpike-road  from  New 

Albany  to  Vincennes, 1,150,000 

6.  Turnpike  or  rail-road,  from  New  Al- 
bany to  Crawfordsville, 1,300,000 

7.  Removing  obstructions  in  the  WTabash,  50,000 


$10,000,000 

8.  The  bill  gives  the  credit  of  the  State 
to  the  Lawrenceburgh  and  Indianopo- 
lis  rail-road  company,  for  the  sum  of  $500,000 

Rail-Roads,  from  Evansville,  on  the  Ohio, 
to  Lafayette,  on  the  Wabash,  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  miles, — from  Lafayette  to 
Michigan  city,  ninety  miles,  forming  a'  line 


INDIANA.  C253 

from  the  Ohio  river  to  lake  Michigan,  two 
hundred  and  sixty-five  miles  in  length; — from 
Madison,  on  the  Ohio,  to  Indianopolis,  the  seat 
of  government,  eighty-five  miles;  and  several 
others,  were  projected  three  years  since.  But 
at  the  session  of  the  legislature  of  1835-6,  a 
bill  was  passed  to  borrow,  in  such  instalments 
as  should  be  needed,  tenmillions  of  dollars;  and 
a  system  of  internal  improvements,  including 
canals,  rail-roads,  and  the  improvement  of 
river  navigation,  was  marked  out.  In  a  few 
years,  this  State  will  be  prominent  in  this 
species  of  enterprise. 

Manufactures.  Besides  the  household  man- 
ufacture of  cotton  and  flannels,  common  to  the 
western  people,  at  Vincennes,  and  probably 
other  towns,  machinery  is  employed  in  seve- 
ral establishments.  It  will  be  seen  from  the 
sketch  of  each  county,  already  given,  that  in 
most  parts  of  the  State  there  is  a  supply  of 
water  power  for  manufacturing  purposes. 
Both  water  and  steam  power,  saw  and  grist- 
mills, are  already  in  operation  in  various  parts 
of  the  State. 

Education.  The  same  provision,  of  one 
section  of  land  in  each  township,  or  a  thirty- 
sixth  part  of  the  public  lands,  has  been  made 
for  the  encouragement  of  common  schools,  as 
in  other  Western  States.  A  law  has  been 
enacted  providing  for  common  schools,  and 
the  public  rnind  has  become  in  a  measure 
awakened  to  the  subject  of  education.  Some 
most  extravagant  and  exaggerated  statements 
have  been  made,  relative  to  an  incredible 


254  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

number  of  children  in  this  State,  "  who  have 
no  means  of  education."  As  in  all  new  coun- 
tries, the  first  class  of  emigrants,  having  to 
provide  for  their  more  immediate  wants,  have 
not  done  so  much  as  is  desirable  to  promote 
common  school  education;  but  we  have  no 
idea  they  will  slumber  on  that  subject,  while 
they  are  wide  awake  to  the  physical  wants 
and  resources  of  the  country.  Academies 
have  been  established  in  several  counties,  and 
a  college  at  Bloomington,  from  the  encourage- 
ment of  State  funds;  and  other  institutions  are 
rising  up,  of  which  the  Hanover  institution, 
near  the  Ohio  river,  and  Wabash  college,  at 
Crawfordsville,  promise  to  be  conspicuous. 

History.  This  country  was  first  explored 
by  adventurers  from  Canada,  with  a  view  to 
the  Indian  trade,  towards  the  close  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century;  and  the  place  where  Vin- 
cennes  now  stands  is  said  to  have  been  thus 
early  occupied  as  a  trading  post.  A  company 
of  French,  from  Canada,  made  a  settlement 
here,  in  1735.  The  country,  in  common  with 
the  \Vestern  Valley,  was  claimed  by  France, 
until  it  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  at  the 
treaty  of  peace,  in  1763,  under  whose  juris- 
diction it  remained,  until  subdued  by  the 
American  arms,  under  the  intrepid  Gen.  G. 
R.  Clark,  and  his  gallant  band,  in  1779.  A 
territorial  government  was  organized  by  Con- 
gress, in  1787,  including  all  the  country  north- 
west of  the  Ohio  river,  which  was  then  called 
the  North-Western  Territory.  In  1802,  when 
the  State  of  Ohio  was  organized,  all  that  part 


INDIANA.  255 

of  the  Territory  lying  west  of  a  line  due  north 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  was  or- 
ganized into  the  Territory  of  Indiana;  which 
was  divided,  and  from  which  Illinois  Territory 
was  formed  in  1809.  In  June,  1816,  a  con- 
stitution was  adopted,  and  at  the  ensuing  ses- 
sion of  Congress,  Indiana  was  made  a  State. 

General  Remarks.  The  importance  of  In- 
diana, as  a  desirable  State  for  the  attention  of 
the  emigrant  to  the  West,  has  been  too  much 
overlooked.  Although  not  possessing  quite 
equal  advantages  with  Illinois,  especially  in 
the  quality  and  amount  of  prairie  soil,  it  is  far 
superior  to  Ohio;  and  fully  equal, — nay,  in 
our  estimation, — rather  superior  to  Michigan. 
Almost  every  part  is  easy  of  access,  and  in  a 
very  few  years  the  liberal  system  of  internal 
improvements,  adopted  and  in  progress,  will 
make  almost  every  county  accessible  to  public 
conveyances,  and  furnish  abundant  facilities 
to  market. 

Along  the  wide,  alluvion  bottoms  of  the 
streams,  and  amidst  a  rank  growth  of  vegeta- 
tion, there  is  usually  more  or  less  autumnal 
fever;  yet,  in  general,  there  is  very  little  dif- 
ference in  any  of  the  Western  States  as  to 
prospects  of  health. 

Mechanics,  school  teachers,  and  laborers 
of  every  description,  are  much  wanted  in  this 
State,  as  they  are  in  all  the  States  further 
west;  and  all  may  provide  abundantly  -and 
easily  all  the  necessaries  of  living  for  a  family, 
if  they  will  use  industry,  economy  and  sobriety. 


CHAPTER    XII 


ILLINOIS. 

Boundaries  and  Extent — Face  of  the  Country  and  Qualities 
of  Soil — Inundated  Land — River  Bottoms,  or  Alluvion — 
Prairies — Barrens — Forest,  or  timbered  Land — Knobs, 
Bluffs,  Ravines  and  Sink-holes — Rivers,  &c. — Animal, 

Mineral   and   Vegetable  Productions Manufactures — 

Civil  Divisions — Tabular  View  of  the  Counties — Sketch 
of  each  County — Towns — Projected  Improvements — 
Education — Government — General  Remarks. 

THE  State  of  Illinois  is  situated  between 
37°  and  42°  30'  north  latitude;  and  between 
10°  25'  and  14°  30'  west  longitude  from  Wash- 
ington city.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Wisconsin  Territory,  north-east  by  lake  Mich- 
igan, east  by  Indiana,  south-east  and  south  by 
Kentucky,  and  west  by  Missouri.  Its  extreme 
length  is  three  hundred  and  eighty  miles;  and 
its  extreme  width,  two  hundred  and  twenty 
miles;  its  average  width,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles.  The  area  of  the  whole  State,  in- 
cluding a  small  portion  of  lake  Michigan  with- 
in its  boundaries,  is  59,300  square  miles. 


ILLINOIS.  251 

The  water  area  of  the  State  is  about  3750 
square  miles.  W^th  this,  deduct  5550  square 
miles  for  irreclaimable  wastes,  and  there  re- 
mains 50,000  square  miles,  or  32,000,000 
of  acres  of  arable  land  in  Illinois, — a  much 
greater  quantity  than  is  found  in  any  other 
State.  In  this  estimate,  inundated  lands, 
submerged  by  high  waters,  but  which  may  be 
reclaimed  at  a  moderate  expense,  is  included. 

Face  of  the  Country,  and  qualities  of  Soil. 
The  general  surface  is  level,  or  moderately 
undulating;  the  northern  and  southern  por- 
tions are  broken  and  somewhat  hilly,  but  no 
portion  of  the  State  is  traversed  with  ranges 
of  hills  or  mountains.  At  the  verge  of  the  al- 
luvial soil  on  the  margins  of  rivers,  there  are 
ranges  of  "bluffs,"  intersected  with  ravines. 
The  bluffs  are  usually  from  fifty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  high,  where  an  extended 
surface  of  table  land  commences,  covered 
with  prairies  and  forests  of  various  shapes 
and  sizes. 

When  examined  minutely,  there  are  several 
varieties  in  the  surface  of  this  State,  which 
will  be  briefly  specified  and  described. 

1.  Inundated  Lands.  I  apply  this  term  to 
allt  hose  portions,  which,  for  some  part  of  the 
year,  are  under  water.  These  include  por- 
tions of  the  river  bottoms,  and  portions  of  the 
interior  of  large  prairies,  with  the  lakes  and 
ponds  which,  for  half  the  year  or  more,  are 
without  water.  The  term  "  bottom  "  is  used 
throughout  the  West,  to  denote  the  alluvial 


258 


soil  on  the  margin  of  rivers,  usually  called 
"  intervales,"  in  New  England.  Portions  of 
this  description  of  land  are  overflowed  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  period,  when  the  rivers  are 
full.  Probably  one  eighth  of  the  bottom  lands 
are  of  this  description;  for,  though  the  water 
may  not  stand  for  any  length  of  time,  it  wholly 
prevents  settlement  and  cultivation,  though  it 
does  not  interrupt  the  growth  of  timber  and 
vegetation.  These  tracts  are  on  the  bottoms 
of  the  Wabash,  Ohio,  Mississippi,  Illinois  and 
all  the  interior  rivers. 

When  the  rivers  rise  above  their  ordinary 
height,  the  waters  of  the  smaller  streams, 
which  are  backed  up  by  the  freshets  of  the 
former,  break  over  their  banks,  and  cover  all 
the  low  grounds.  Here  they  stand  for  a  few 
days,  or  for  many  weeks,  especially  towards 
the  bluffs;  for  it  is  a  striking  fact  in  the  geol- 
ogy of  the  western  country,  that  all  the  river 
bottoms  are  higher  on  the  margins  of  the 
streams  than  at  some  distance  back.  When- 
ever increase  of  population  shall  create  a  de- 
mand for  this  species  of  soil,  the  most  of  it 
can  be  reclaimed  at  comparatively  small  ex- 
pense. Its  fertility  will  be  inexhaustible,  and 
if  the  waters  from  the  rivers  could  be  shut 
out  by  dykes  or  levees,  the  soil  would  be  per- 
fectly dry.  Most  of  the  small  lakes  on  the 
American  bottom  disappear  in  the  summer, 
and  leave  a  deposit  of  vegetable  matter  un- 
dergoing decomposition,  or  a  luxuriant  coat 
of  weeds  and  grass. 


ILLINOIS.  259 

As  our  prairies  mostly  lie  between  the 
streams  that  drain  the  country,  the  interior 
of  the  large  ones  are  usually  level.  Here  are 
formed  ponds  and  lakes,  after  the  winter  and 
spring  rains,  which  remain,  to  be  drawn  off  by 
evaporation,  or  absorbed  by  an  adhesive  soil. 
Hence  the  middle  of  our  large,  level  prairies 
are  wet,  and  for  several  weeks  portions  of 
them  are  covered  with  water.  To  remedy 
this  inconvenience  completely,  and  render  all 
this  portion  of  soil  dry  and  productive,  only 
requires  a  ditch  or  drain  of  two  or  three  feet 
deep  to  be  cut  into  the  nearest  ravine.  In 
many  instances,  a  single  furrow  with  the 
plough  would  drain  many  acres.  At  present, 
this  species  of  inundated  land  offers  no  incon- 
venience to  the  people,  except  in  the  produc- 
tion of  miasrn,  and  even  that,  perhaps,  be- 
comes too  much  diluted  with  the  atmosphere 
to  produce  mischief  before  it  reaches  the  set- 
tlements on  the  borders  of  the  prairie.  Hence 
the  inference  is  correct,  that  our  inundated 
lands  present  fewer  obstacles  to  the  settle- 
ment and  growth  of  the  country,  and  can  be 
reclaimed  at  much  less  expense,  than  the 
swamps  and  salt  marshes  of  the  Atlantic 
States. 

2.  River  bottoms,  or  Alluvion.  The  surface 
of  our  alluvial  bottoms  is  not  entirely  level.  In 
some  places  it  resembles  alternate  waves  of 
the  ocean,  and  looks  as  though  the  waters 
had  left  their  deposit  in  ridges,  and  retired. 

The  portion  of  bottom  land  capable  of  pres- 


260  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

ent  cultivation,  and  on  which  the  waters  never 
stand,  if,  at  an  extreme  freshet  it  is  covered, 
is  a  soil  of  exhaustless  fertility;  a  soil  that  for 
ages  past  has  been  gradually  deposited  by 
the  annual  floods.  Its  average  depth  on  the 
American  bottom,  is  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  feet.  Logs  of  wood,  and  other  indica- 
tions, are  found  at  that  depth.  The  soil  dug 
from  wells  on  these  bottoms,  produces  luxuri- 
antly the  first  year. 

The  most  extensive  and  fertile  tract  of  this 
description  of  soil  in  this  State,  is  the  Ameri- 
can bottom,  a  name  it  received  when  it  consti- 
tuted the  western  boundary  of  the  United 
States,  and  which  it  has  retained  ever  since. 
It  commences  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kaskaskia 
river,  five  miles  below  the  town  of  Kaskaskia, 
and  extends  northwardly,  along  the  Mississip- 
pi, to  the  bluffs  at  Alton,  a  distance  of  ninety 
miles.  Its  average  width  is  five  miles,  and 
contains  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  square 
miles,  or  288,000  acres.  Opposite  St.  Louis, 
in  St.  Clair  county,  the  bluffs  are  seven  miles 
from  the  river,  and  filled  with  inexhaustible 
beds  of  coal.  The  soil  of  this  bottom  is  an 
argillaceous  or  a  silicious  loam,  according  as 
clay  or  sand  happens  to  predominate  in  its 
formation. 

On  the  margin  of  the  river,  and  of  some  of 
its  lakes,  is  a  strip  of  heavy  timber,  with  a 
thick  undergrowth,  which  extends  from  half  a 
mile  to  two  miles  in  width;  but  from  thence  to 
the  bluffs,  it  is  principally  prairie.  It  is  in- 


ILLINOIS.  261 

terspersed  with  sloughs,  lakes  and  ponds,  the 
most  of  which  become  dry  in  autumn. 

The  soil  of  the  American  bottom  is  inex- 
haustibly rich.  About  the  French  towns  it 
has  been  cultivated,  and  produced  corn  in 
succession  for  more  than  a  century,  without 
exhausting  its  fertilizing  powers.  Thejjonly 
objection  that  can  be  offered  to  this  tract  is 
its  unhealthy  character.  This,  however,  has 
diminished  considerably  within  eight  or  ten 
years.  The  geological  feature  noticed  in  the 
last  article, — that  all  our  bottoms  are  higher 
on  the  margin  of  the  stream,  than  towards 
the  bluffs, — explains  the  cause  why  so  much 
standing  water  is  on  the  bottom  land,  which, 
during  the  summer,  stagnates  and  throws  off 
noxious  effluvia.  These  lakes  are  usually 
full  of  vegetable  matter  undergoing  decompo- 
sition, and  which  produces  large  quantities  of 
miasm.  Some  of  the  lakes  are  clear,  with  a 
sandy  bottom,  but  the  most  are  of  a  different 
character.  The  French  settled  near  a  lake 
or  a  river,  apparently  in  the  most  unhealthy 
places,  and  yet  their  constitutions  were  little 
affected;  and  they  usually  enjoyed  good  health, 
though  dwarfish  and  shriveled  in  their  form 
and  features. 

"The  villages  of  Kaskaskia,  Prairie  du 
Rocher  and  Cahokia,  were  built  up  by  their 
industry,  in  places  where  Americans  would 
have  perished.  Cultivation  has,  no  doubt, 
rendered  this  tract  more  salubrious  than  for- 
merly; and  an  increase  of  it,  together  with 


262 

the  construction  of  drains  and  canals,  will 
make  it  one  of  the  most  eligible  in  the  States. 
The  old  inhabitants  advise  the  emigrants  not 
to  plant  corn  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  their 
dwellings,  as  its  rich  and  massive  foliage  pre- 
vents the  sun  from  dispelling  the  deleterious 
vapors."* 

These  lakes  and  ponds  could  be  drained  at 
a  small  expense,  and  the  soil  would  be  suscep- 
tible of  cultivation.  The  early  settlements  of 
the  Americans  were  either  on  this  bottom,  or 
the  contiguous  bluffs. 

Besides  the  American  bottom,  there  are 
others  that  resemble  it  in  its  general  charac- 
ter, but  not  in  extent.  In  Union  county, 
there  is  an  extensive  bottom  on  the  borders 
of  the  Mississippi.  Above  the  mouth  of  the 
Illinois,  and  along  the  borders  of  the  counties 
of  Calhoun,  Pike  and  Adams,  there  are  a  se- 
ries of  bottoms,  with  much  good  and  elevated 
land;  but  the  inundated  grounds  around 
present  objections  to  a  dense  population  at 
present. 

The  bottoms  of  Illinois,  where  not  inundat- 
ed, are  equal  in  fertility,  and  the  soil  is  less 
adhesive  than  most  parts  of  the  American 
bottom.  This  is  likewise  the  character  of  the 
bottoms  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  State. 

The  bottoms  of  the  Kaskaskia  are  generally 
covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber,  and 
in  many  places  inundated,  when  the  river  is 
at  its  highest  floods. 

*Beck 


ILLINOIS.  263 

The  extensive  prairies  adjoining,  will  create 
a  demand  for  all  this  timber.  The  bottom 
lands  on  the  Wabash  are  of  various  qualities. 
Near  the  mouth,  much  of  it  is  inundated; 
higher  up,  it  overflows  in  high  freshets. 

These  bottoms,  especially  the  American, 
are  the  best  regions  in  the  United  States  for 
raising  stock,  particularly  horses,  cattle  and 
swine.  Seventy-five  bushels  of  corn  to  the 
acre  is  an  ordinary  crop.  The  roots  and 
worms  of  the  soil,  the  acorns  and  other  fruits 
from  the  trees,  and  the  fish  of  the  lakes,  ac- 
celerate the  growth  of  swine.  Horses  and 
cattle  find  exhaustless  supplies  of  grass  in  the 
prairies;  and  pea-vines,  buffalo-grass,  wild 
oats,  and  other  herbage  in  the  timber,  for 
summer  range;  and  often  throughout  most  of 
the  winter.  In  all  the  rush  bottoms,  they 
fatten  during  the  severe  weather,  on  rushes. 
The  bottom  soil  is  not  so  well  adapted  to  the 
production  of  small  grain,  as  of  rnaize  or  In- 
dian corn,  on  account  of  its  rank  growth,  and 
being  more  subject  to  blast  or  fall  down  be- 
fore harvest,  than  on  the  uplands. 

3.  Prairies.  Much  the  largest  proportion  is 
undulating,  dry  and  extremely  fertile.  Other 
portions  are  level;  and  the  soil  in  some  cases 
proves  to  be  wet;  —  the  water,  not  running  off 
freely,  is  left  to  be  absorbed  by  the  soil,  or 
evaporated  by  the  sun.  Craw-fish  throw  up 
their  hillocks  in  this  soil,  and  the  farmer  who 
cultivates  it,  will  find  his  labors  impeded  by 
the  water. 


264  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

In  the  southern  part,  that  is,  south  of  the 
national  road  leading  from  Terre  Haute  to 
the  Mississippi,  the  prairies  are  comparative- 
ly small,  varying  in  size  from  those  of  several 
miles  in  width,  to  those  which  contain  only  a 
few  acres.  As  we  go  northward,  they  widen 
and  extend  on  the  more  elevated  ground  be- 
tween the  water-courses,  to  a  vast  distance, 
and  are  frequently  from  six  to  twelve  miles  in 
width.  Their  borders  are  by  no  means  uni- 
form. Long  points  of  timber  project  into  the 
prairies,  and  line  the  banks  of  the  streams, 
and  points  of  prairie  project  into  the  timber 
between  these  streams.  In  many  instances 
are  copses  and  groves  of  timber,  from  one 
hundred  to  two  thousand  acres,  in  the  midst 
of  prairies,  like  islands  in  the  ocean.  This  is 
a  common  feature  in  the  country  between  the 
Sangamon  river  and  lake  Michigan,  and  in  the 
northern  parts  of  the  State.  The  lead-mine 
region,  both  in  this  State  and  Wisconsin  Ter- 
ritory, abound  with  these  groves. 

The  origin  of  these  prairies  has  caused  much 
speculation.  We  might  as  well  dispute  about 
the  origin  of  forests,  upon  the  assumption  that 
the  natural  covering  of  the  earth  was  grass. 
Probably  one  half  of  the  earth's  surface,  in  a 
state  of  nature,  was  prairies  or  barrens.  Much 
of  it,  like  our  western  prairies,  was  covered 
with  a  luxuriant  coat  of  grass  and  herbage. 
The  steppes  of  Tartary,  the  pampas  of  South 
America,  the  savannas  of  the  Southern,  and 
the  prairies  of  the  Western  States,  designate 


ILLINOIS.  265 

similar  tracts  of  country.  Mesopotamia,  Syria 
and  Judea  had  their  ancient  prairies,  on  which 
the  patriarchs  fed  their  flocks.  Missionaries 
in  Burmah,  and  travelers  in  the  interior  of 
Africa,  mention  the  same  description  of  coun- 
try. Where  the  tough  sward  of  the  prairie  is 
once  formed,  timber  will  not  take  root.  De- 
stroy this  by  the  plough,  or  by  any  other 
method,  and  it  is  soon  converted  into  forest 
land.  There  are  large  tracts  of  country  in 
the  older  settlements,  where  thirty  or  forty 
years  since,  the  farmers  mowed  their  hay, 
that  are  now  covered  with  a  forest  of  young 
timber  of  rapid  growth. 

The  fire  annually  sweeps  over  the  prairies, 
destroying  the  grass  and  herbage,  blackening 
the  surface,  and  leaving  a  deposit  of  ashes  to 
enrich  the  soil. 

4.  Barrens.  This  term,  in  the  western  dia- 
lect, does  not  indicate  poor  land,  but  a  species 
of  surface  of  a  mixed  character,  uniting  forest 
and  prairie. 

The  timber  is  generally  scattering,  of  a 
rough  and  stunted  appearance,  interspersed 
with  patches  of  hazle  and  brushwood,  and 
where  the  contest  between  the  fire  and  timber 
is  kept  up,  each  striving  for  the  mastery. 

In  the  early  settlements  of  Kentucky,  much 
of  the  country  below  and  south  of  Green  river, 
presented  a  dwarfish  and  stunted  growth  of 
timber,  scattered  over  the  surface,  or  collect- 
ed in  clumps,  with  hazle  and  shrubbery  inter- 
mixed. This  appearance  led  the  first  explor- 


266  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

ers  to  the  inference  that  the  soil  itself  must 
necessarily  be  poor,  to  produce  so  scanty  a 
growth  of  timber,  and  they  gave  the  name  of 
barrens  to  the  whole  tract  of  country.  Long 
since,  it  has  been  ascertained  that  this  de- 
scription of  land  is  amongst  the  most  produc- 
tive soil  in  the  State.  The  term  barren  has 
since  received  a  very  extensive  application 
throughout  the  West.  Like  all  other  tracts 
of  country,  the  barrens  present  a  considerable 
diversity  of  soil.  In  general,  however,  the 
surface  is  more  uneven  or  rolling  than  the 
prairies,  and  sooner  degenerates  into  ravines 
and  sink-holes.  Wherever  timber  barely  suf- 
ficient for  present  purposes,  can  be  found, 
a  person  need  not  hesitate  to  settle  in  the 
barrens.  These  tracts  are  almost  invariably 
healthy;  they  possess  a  .greater  abundance  of 
pure  springs  of  water,  and  the  soil  is  better 
adapted  for  all  kinds  of  produce,  and  all  de- 
scriptions of  seasons,  wet  and  dry,  than  the 
deeper  and  richer  mould  of  the  bottoms  and 
prairies. 

When  the  fires  are  stopped,  these  barrens 
produce  timber,  at  a  rate  of  which  no  north- 
ern emigrant  can  have  any  just  conception. 
Dwarfish  shrubs,  and  small  trees  of  oak  and 
hickory  are  scattered  over  the  surface,  where 
for  years  they  have  contended  with  the  fires 
for  a  precarious  existence,  while  a  mass  of 
roots,  sufficient  for  the  support  of  large  trees, 
have  accumulated  in  the  earth.  As  soon  as 
they  are  protected  from  the  ravages  of  the 


ILLINOIS.  267 

annual  fires,  the  more  thrifty  sprouts  shoot 
forth,  and  in  ten  years  are  large  enough  for 
corn-cribs  and  stables. 

As  the  fires  on  the  prairies  become  stopped 
by  the  surrounding  settlements,  and  the  wild 
grass  is  eaten  out  and  trodden  down  by  the 
stock,  they  begin  to  assume  the  character  of 
barrens;  first,  hazle  and  other  shrubs,  and 
finally,  a  thicket  of  young  timber,  covers  the 
surface. 

5.  Forest,  or  limbered  Land.  In  general,  Il- 
linois is  abundantly  supplied  with  timber,  and 
were  it  equally  distributed  through  the  State, 
there  would  be  no  part  in  want.  The  appa- 
rent scarcity  of  timber  where  the  prairie  pre- 
dominates, is  not  so  great  an  obstacle  to  the 
settlement  of  the  country  as  has  been  suppos- 
ed. For  many  of  the  purposes  to  which  tim- 
ber is  applied,  substitutes  are  found.  The 
rapidity  with  which  the  young  growth  pushes 
itself  forward,  without  a  single  effort  on  the 
part  of  man  to  accelerate  it,  and  the  readiness 
with  which  the  prairie  becomes  converted 
into  thickets,  and  then  into  a  forest  of  young 
timber,  shows,  that,  in  another  generation, 
timber  will  not  be  wanting  in  any  part  of 
Illinois. 

The  kinds  of  timber  most  abundant  are  oak 
of  various  species,  black  and  white  walnut, 
ash  of  several  kinds,  elrn,  sugar-maple,  honey- 
locust,  hackberry,  linden,  hickory,  cotton- 
wood,  pecaun,  mulberry,  buckeye,  sycamore, 
wild  cherry,  box-elder,  sassafras,  and  per- 


268  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

simmon.  In  the  southern  and  eastern  parts 
of  the  State  are  yellow  poplar  and  beech; 
near  the  Ohio  are  cypress,  and  in  several 
counties  are  clumps  of  yellow  pine  and  cedar. 
On  the  Calamick,  near  the  south  end  of  lake 
Michigan,  is  a  small  forest  of  white  pine.  The 
undergrowth  are  red-bud,  pawpaw,  sumach, 
plum,  crab-apple,  grape  vines,  dogwood,  spice- 
bush,  green  brier,  hazle,  &c.  The  alluvial 
soil  of  the  rivers  produces  cotton-wood  and 
sycamore  timber  of  amazing  size. 

For  ordinary  purposes  there  is  now  timber 
enough  in  most  parts  of  the  State,  to  say  noth- 
ing about  the  artificial  production  of  timber, 
which  may  be  effected  with  little  trouble  and 
expense.  The  black  locust,  a  native  of  Ohio 
and  Kentucky,  may  be  raised  from  the  seed, 
with  less  labor  than  a_nursery  of  apple  trees. 
It  is  of  rapid  growth,  and,  as  a  valuable  and 
lasting  timber,  claims  the  attention  of  our 
farmers.  It  forms  one  of  the  cleanliest  and 
most  beautiful  shades,  and  when  in  blossom, 
gives  a  rich  prospect,  and  sends  abroad  a  de- 
licious fragrance. 

6.  Knobs,  Bluffs,  Ravines  and  Sink-holes. 
Under  these  heads  are  included  tracts  of  un- 
even country  found  in  various  parts  of  the  State. 

Knobs  are  ridges  of  flint  limestone,  inter- 
mingled and  covered  with  earth,  and  elevated 
one  or  two  hundred  feet  above  the  common 
surface.  This  species  of  land  is  of  little  value 
for  cultivation,  and  usually  has  a  sprinkling  of 
dwarfish,  stunted  timber,  like  the  barrens. 


ILLINOIS.  269 

The  steep  hills  and  natural  mounds  that 
border  the  alluvions  have  obtained  the  name 
of  bluffs.  Some  are  in  long,  parallel  ridges, 
others  are  in  the  form  of  cones  and  pyramids. 
In  some  places,  precipices  of  limestone  rock, 
from  fifty  to  one  or  two  hundred  feet  high, 
form  these  bluffs. 

Ravines  are  formed  amongst  the  bluffs,  and 
often  near  the  borders  of  prairies,  which  lead 
down  to  the  streams. 

Sink-holes  are  circular  depressions  in  the 
surface,  like  a  basin.  They  are  of  various 
sizes,  from  ten  to  fifty  feet  deep,  and  from 
ten  to  one  or  two  hundred  yards  in  circum- 
ference. Frequently  they  contain  an  outlet 
for  the  water  received  by  the  rains.  Their 
existence  shows  that  the  substratum  is  secon- 
dary limestone,  abounding  with  subterraneous 
cavities. 

There  are  but  few  tracts  of  stony  ground  in 
the  State;  that  is,  where  loose  stones  are 
scattered  over  the  surface,  and  imbedded  in 
the  soil.  Towards  the  northern  part  of  the 
State,  tracts  of  stony  ground  exist.  Quarries 
of  stone  exist  in  the  bluffs  and  in  the  banks  of 
the  streams  and  ravines  throughout  the  State. 
The  soil  is  porous,  easy  to  cultivate,  and  ex- 
ceedingly productive.  A  strong  team  is  re- 
quired to  break  up  the  prairies,  on  account  of 
the  firm,  grassy  sward  which  covers  them; 
but  when  subdued,  they  become  fine,  arable 
lands. 

Rivers,  fyc.     This  State  is  surrounded  and 


270 

intersected  by  navigable  streams.  The  Mis- 
sissippi, Ohio  and  Wabash  rivers  are  on 
three  sides;  the  Illinois,  Kaskaskia,  Sanga- 
mon,  Muddy,  and  many  smaller  streams  are 
entirely  within  its  borders;  and  the  Kankakee, 
Fox,  Rock,  and  Vermilion  of  the  Wabash  run 
part  of  their  course  within  this  State.  The 
Mississippi  meanders  its  western  border  for 
seven  hundred  miles.  Its  principal  tributaries 
within  Illinois,  are  Rock,  Illinois,  Kaskaskia 
and  Muddy  rivers.  The  Illinois  river  com- 
mences at  the  junction  of  the  Kankakee,  which 
originates  near  the  South  Bend,  in  Indiana,  and 
the  Des  Plaines,  which  rises  in  Wisconsin 
Territory.  From  their  junction,  the  Illinois 
,runs  nearly  a  west  course  (receiving  Fox 
river  at  Ottawa,  and  Vermilion  near  the  foot 
of  the  rapids),  to  Hennepin,  where  it  curves 
to  the  south  and  then  to  the  south-west,  re- 
ceiving a  number  of  tributaries,  the  largest  of 
which  are  Spoon  river  from  the  right  and  San- 
gamon  from  the  left,  till  it  reaches  Naples. 
Here  it  bends  gradually  to  the  south,  and 
continues  that  course  till  within  six  miles  of 
the  Mississippi,  when  it  curves  to  the  south- 
east, and  finally,  to  nearly  an  eastern  course. 
Its  length  (without  reckoning  the  windings  of 
the  channel  in  navigation),  is  about  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  miles,  and  is  navigable  for 
steam-boats,  at  a  moderate  stage  of  water,  to 
the  foot  of  the  rapids.  The  large  streams  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  State  are  Iroquois,  a 
tributary  to  the  Kankakee,  Vermilion  of  the 


ILLINOIS.  271 

Wabash,  which  enters  that  river  in  Indiana, 
Embarras,  that  has  its  source  near  that  of  the 
Kaskaskia,  runs  south-easterly,  and  enters 
the  Wabash,  nine  miles  below  Vincennes, 
and  Little  Wabash,  near  its  mouth.  Along 
the  Ohio,  the  only  streams  deserving  note  are 
the  Saline  and  Bay  creeks,  and  Cash  river, 
the  last  of  which  enters  the  Ohio  six  miles 
above  its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi. 

Productions.  These  are  naturally  classed 
into  mineral,  animal  and  vegetable. 

Minerals.  The  northern  portion  of  Illinois 
is  inexhaustibly  rich  in  mineral  productions, 
while  coal,  secondary  limestone,  and  sand- 
stone, are  found  in  every  part. 

Iron  ore  has  been  found  in  the  southern 
parts  of  the  State,  and  is  said  to  exist  in  con- 
siderable quantities  in  the  northern  parts. 

Native  copper,  in  small  quantities,  has  been 
found  on  Muddy  river,  in  Jackson  county, 
and  back  of  Harrisonville,  in  the  bluffs  of 
Monroe  county.  Crystallized  gypsum  has 
been  found  in  small  quantities  in  St.  Clair 
county.  Quartz  crystals  exist  in  Gallatin 
county. 

Silver  is  supposed  to  exist  in  St.  Clair 
county,  two  miles  from  Rock  Spring,  from 
whence  Silver  creek  derives  its  name.  In 
early  times  a  shaft  was  sunk  here,  by  the 
French,  and  tradition  tells  of  large  quantities 
of  the  precious  metals  being  obtained. 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  several 
sections  of  land  have  been  reserved  from  sale, 


272 


on  account  of  the  silver  ore  they  are  supposed 
to  contain. 

Lead  is  found  in  vast  quantities  in  the 
northern  part  of  Illinois,  and  the  adjacent 
Territory.  Here  are  the  richest  lead  mines 
hitherto  discovered  on  the  globe.  This  por- 
tion of  country  lies  principally  north  of  Rock 
river  and  south  of  the  Wisconsin.  Du- 
buque's  and  other  rich  mines,  are  west  of 
the  Mississippi. 

Native  copper,  in  large  quantities,  exists  in 
this  region,  especially  at  the  mouth  of  Plum 
creek,  and  on  the  Peek-a-ton-o-kee,  a  branch 
of  Rock  river. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  dig- 
gings in  that  portion  of  the  lead-mine  region 
that  lies  between  Rock  river  and  the  Wiscon- 
sin, embracing  portions  of  Illinois  State,  and 
Wisconsin  Territory.  Some  of  these  diggings 
are,  probably  relinquished,  and  many  new 
ones  commenced: — 


Apple  creek, 

GALENA  and  vicinity, 

Cave  diggings, 

Bunco  nibe, 

Natchez, 

Hardscrabble, 

New  diggings, 

Gratiot's  Grove, 

Spulburg, 

W.  S.  Hamilton's, 

Cotttle's, 

McNutt's, 


Menomonee  creek, 

Plattsville, 

CASSVILLE  and  vicinity, 

Madden's, 

Mineral  point, 

Dodgeville, 

Worke's  diggings, 

Brisbo's, 

Blue  mounds, 

Prairie  springs, 

Hammett  &  Campbell's, 

Morrison's; 


and  many  others. 


ILLINOIS.  273 

Amount  of  Lead  manufactured.  For  many 
years  the  Indians,  and  some  of  the  French 
hunters  and  traders,  had  been  accustomed  to 
dig  lead  in  these  regions.  They  never  pene- 
trated much  below  the  surface,  but  obtained 
considerable  quantities  of  the  ore  which  they 
sold  to  the  traders. 

In  1823,  the  late  Colonel  James  Johnson, 
(brother  to  the  Hon.  R.  M.  Johnson,)  of 
Great  Crossings,  Kentucky,  obtained  a  lease 
from  the  United  States  government,  and  made 
arrangements  to  prosecute  the  business  of 
smelting,  with  considerable  force,  which  he 
did  the  following  season.  This  attracted  the 
attention  of  enterprising  men  in  Illinois,  Mis- 
souri, and  other  States.  Some  went  on  in 
1826,  more  followed  in  1827,  and  in  1828  the 
country  was  almost  literally  filled  with  miners, 
smelters,  merchants,  speculators,  gamblers, 
and  every  description  of  character.  Intelli- 
gence, enterprise  and  virtue  were  thrown  in 
the  rnidst  of  dissipation,  gaming,  and  every 
species  of  vice.  Such  was  the  crowd  of  ad- 
venturers in  1829,  to  this  hitherto  almost 
unknown  and  desolate  region,  that  the  lead 
business  was  greatly  overdone,  and  the  mar- 
ket for  a  while  nearly  destroyed.  Fortunes 
were  made  almost  upon  the  turn  of  the  spade, 
and  lost  with  equal  facility.  The  business 
has  revived,  and  is  profitable.  Exhaustless 
qnantities  of  mineral  exist  here,  over  a  tract 
of  country  two  hundred  miles  in  extent. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of 
12* 


274 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


lead  made  annually  at  these  diggings,  from 
1821,  to  September  30,  1835:— 

Jlmount  of  Lead  manufactuTed. 

Pounds. 

From  1821,  to  Sept.  1823, 335,130 

For  the  year  ending  Sept.  30,  1824, 175,220 

1825,.  .  .  .  664,530 

1826, 958,842 

"                        1827,.  .  .  .  5,182,180 
"                        1828,.  .  .  .11,105,810 
1829,.  ..  .13,344,150 

1830, 8,323,993 

"                        1831,.  .  .  .  6,381,900 

1832, 4,281,876 

"                         1833,.  .  .  .  7,941,792 

'«                         1834,.  .  .  .  7,971,579 

"                        1835, ....  3,754,290 

Total,  70,420,357 

The  rent,  accruing  to  government,  for  the 
same  period,  is  a  fraction  short  of  six  millions 
of  pounds.  The  government  formerly  receiv- 
ed ten  per  cent,  in  lead,  for  rent:  now  it  is 
six  per  cent. 

A  part  of  the  mineral  land  in  Wisconsin 
Territory  has  been  surveyed  and  brought  into 
market,  which  will  add  greatly  to  the  stability 
and  prosperity  of  the  mining  business. 

Coal.  Bituminous  coal  abounds  in  Illinois. 
It  may  be  seen,  frequently,  in  the  ravines  and 
gullies,  and  in  the  points  of  bluffs.  Exhaust- 
less  beds  of  this  article  exist  in  the  bluffs  of 
St.  Clair  county,  bordering  on  the  American 
bottom,  of  which  large  quantities  are  trans- 
ported to  St.  Louis,  for  fuel.  There  is  scarce- 


ILLINOIS.  275 

ly  a  county  in  the  State,  but  what  can  furnish 
coal,  in  reasonable  quantities.  Large  beds 
are  said  to  exist  near  the  Vermilion  of  the  Il- 
linois, and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  rapids  of  the 
latter. 

Jlgatized  Wood.  A  petrified  tree,  of  black 
walnut,  was  found  in  the  bed  of  the  river  Des 
Plaines,  about  forty  rods  above  its,  junction 
with  the  Kankakee,  imbedded  in  a  horizontal 
position,  in  a  stratum  of  sandstone.  There  is 
fifty-one  and  a  half  feet  of  the  trunk  visible; 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter  at  its  smallest 
end,  and  probably  three  feet  at  the  other  end. 

Muriate  of  Soda,  or  common  salt.  This  is 
found  in  various  parts  of  the  State,  held  in 
solution  in  the  springs.  The  mauufacture  of 
salt,  by  boiling  and  evaporation,  is  carried  on 
in  Gallatin  county,  twelve  miles  west-north- 
west from  Shawneetown;  in  Jackson  county, 
near  Brownsville;  and  in  Vermilion  county, 
near  Danville.  The  springs  and  land  are 
owned  by  the  State,  and  the  works  leased. 

A  coarse  freestone,  much  used  in  building, 
is  dug  from  quarries  near  Alton,  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi, where  large  bodies  exist. 

Scattered  over  the  surface  of  our  prairies, 
are  large  masses  of  rock,  of  granatic  forma- 
tion, roundish  in  form,  usually  called  by  the 
people,  lost  rocks.  They  will  weigh  from  one 
thousand  to  ten  or  twelve  thousand  pounds, 
are  entirely  detached,  and  frequently  are 
found  several  miles  distant  from  any  quarry. 
Nor  has  there  ever  been  a  quarry  of  granite 


276  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

discovered  in  the  State.  These  stones  are 
denominated  bowlders,  in  mineralogy;  they 
usually  He  on  the  surface,  or  are  partially  im- 
bedded in  the  soil  of  our  prairies,  which  is 
unquestionably  of  diluvial  formation.  How 
they  came  here  is  a  question  of  difficult  solu- 
tion. 

Medicinal  waters  are  found  in  different 
parts  of  the  State.  These  are  chiefly  sulphur 
springs  and  chalybeate  waters.  There  is  said 
to  be  one  well  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
State,  strongly  impregnated  with  the  sulphate 
of  magnesia  or  Epsom  salts,  from  which  con- 
siderable quantities  have  been  made  for  sale, 
by  simply  evaporating  the  water,  in  a  kettle, 
over  a  common  fire. 

There  are  several  sulphur  springs  in  Jef- 
ferson county,  to  which  persons  resort  for 
health. 

Vegetable  Productions.  The  principal  trees 
and  shrubs  of  Illinois  have  been  noticed  under 
the  head  of  forest  or  timbered  land.  Of  oak 
there  are  several  species,  as  over-cup,  burr- 
oak,  swamp  or  water  oak,  white  oak,  red  or 
Spanish  oak,  post  oak  and  black  oak  of  seve- 
ral varieties,  with  the  black-jack,  a  dwarfish 
gnarled-looking  tree,  excellent  for  fuel,  but 
good  for  nothing  else. 

The  black  walnut  is  much  used  for  building 
materials  and  cabinet  work,  and  sustains  a 
fine  polish. 

In  most  parts  of  the  State,  grape-vines,  in- 
digenous to  the  country,  are  abundant,  which 


ILLINOIS.  277 

yield  grapes  that  might  advantageously  be 
made  into  excellent  wine.  Foreign  vines  are 
susceptible  of  easy  cultivation.  These  are 
cultivated  to  a  considerable  extent,  at  Vevay, 
Switzerland  county,  Indiana,  and  at  New 
Harmony,  on  the  Wabash.  The  indigenous 
vines  are  prolific,  and  produce  excellent  fruit. 
They  are  found  in  every  variety  of  soil;  in- 
terwoven in  every  thicket  in  the  prairies  and 
barrens;  and  climbing  to  the  tops  of  the  very 
highest  trees  on  the  bottoms.  The  French, 
in  early  times,  made  so  much  wine  as  to  ex- 
port some  to  France;  upon  which  the  proper 
authorities  prohibited  the  introduction  of  wine 
from  Illinois,  lest  it  might  injure  the  sale  of 
that  staple  article  of  the  kingdom.  I  think 
the  act  was  passed  by  the  Board  of  Trade,  in 
1774.  The  editor  of  the  Illinois  Magazine 
remarks,  "We  know  one  gentleman  who 
made  twenty-seven  barrels  of  wine  in  a  single 
season,  from  the  grapes  gathered  with  but 
little  labor,  in  his  immediate  neighborhood." 

The  wild  plum  is  found  in  every  part  of  the 
State ;  but  in  most  instances  the  fruit  is  too 
sour  for  use,  unless  for  preserves.  Crab- 
apples  are  equally  prolific,  and  make  fine  pre- 
serves, with  about  double  their  bulk  of  sugar. 
Wild  cherries  are  equally  productive.  The 
persimmon  is  a  delicious  fruit,  after  the  frost 
has  destroyed  its  astringent  properties.  The 
black  mulberry  grows  in  most  parts,  and  is 
used  for  the  feeding  of  silk-worms,  with  suc- 
cess. They  appear  to  thrive  and  spin  as  well 


278 


as  on  the  Italian  mulberry.  The  gooseberry, 
strawberry  and  blackberry,  grow  wild  and  in 
great  profusion.  Of  nuts,  the  hickory,  black 
walnut  and  pecaun,  deserve  notice.  The  last 
is  an  oblong,  thin-shelled,  delicious  nut,  that 
grows  on  a  large  tree,  a  species  of  the  hick- 
ory (the  Carya  olivceformis  of  Nuttall).  The 
pawpaw  grows  on  the  bottoms  and  rich,  tim- 
bered uplands,  and  produces  a  large,  pulpy 
and  luscious  fruit.  Of  domestic  fruits,  the 
apple  and  peach  are  chiefly  cultivated.  Pears 
are  tolerably  plenty  in  the  French  settle- 
ments, and  quinces  are  cultivated  with  suc- 
cess by  some  Americans.  Apples  are  easily 
cultivated,  and  are  very  productive.  The 
trees  can  be  made  to  bear  fruit  to  considera- 
ble advantage,  in  seven  years,  from  the  seed. 
Many  varieties  are  of  fine  flavor,  and  grow  to 
a  large  size.  I  have  measured  apples,  the 
growth  of  St.  Clair  county,  that  exceeded  thir- 
teen inches  in  circumference.  Some  of  the 
early  American  settlers  provided  orchards; 
they  now  reap  the  advantages.  But  a  large 
proportion  of  the  population  of  the  frontiers 
are  content  without  this  indispensable  article 
in  the  comforts  of  a  yankee  farmer.  Cider  is 
made  in  small  quantities  in  the  old  settle- 
ments. In  a  few  years,  a  supply  of  this  bev- 
erage can  be  had  in  most  par,ts  of  Illinois. 

Peach  trees  grow  with  great  rapidity,  and 
decay  proportionally  soon.  From  ten  to  fif- 
teen years  may  be  considered  the  life  of  this 
tree.  Our  peaches  are  delicious,  but  they 


ILLINOIS.  279 

sometimes  fail,  by  being  destroyed  in  the 
germ,  by  winter  frosts. — The  bud  swells  pre- 
maturely. 

Garden  vegetables  can  be  produced  here  in 
vast  profusion,  and  of  excellent  quality. 

That  we  have  few  of  the  elegant  and  well 
dressed  gardens  of  gentlemen  in  the  old 
States,  is  admitted;  which  is  not  owing  to 
climate,  or  soil,  but  to  the  want  of  leisure 
and  means. 

Our  Irish  potatoes,  pumpkins  and  squashes 
are  inferior,  but  not  our  cabbages,  peas, 
beets  or  onions. 

A  cabbage-head,  two  or  three  feet  in  diam- 
eter, including  the  leaves,  is  no  wonder  on 
this  soil.  Beets  often  exceed  twelve  inches 
in  circumference.  Parsnips  will  penetrate 
our  light,  porous  soil,  to  the  depth  of  two  or 
three  feet. 

The  cultivated  vegetable  productions  in  the 
field,  are  maize  or  Indian  corn,  wheat,  oats, 
barley,  buckwheat,  Irish  potatoes,  sweet  po- 
tatoes, turnips,  rye  for  horse-feed  and  distil- 
leries, tobacco,  cotton,  hemp,  flax,  the  castor 
bean,  and  every  other  production  common  to 
the  Middle  States. 

Maize  is  a  staple  production.  No  farmer 
can  live  without  it,  and  hundreds  raise  little 
else.  This  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  ease  with 
which  it  is  cultivated.  Its  average  produce 
is  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre.  I  have  oftentimes 
seen  it  produce  seventy-five  bushels  to  the 
acre,  and  in  a  few  instances,  exceed  one 
hundred. 


280  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Wheat  yields  a  good  and  sure  crop,  espe- 
cially in  the  counties  bordering  on  the  Illinois 
river.  It  weighs  upwards  of  sixty  pounds  per 
bushel;  and  flour  from  this  region  has  prefer- 
ence in  the  New  Orleans  market,  and  passes 
better  inspection  than  the  same  article  from 
Ohio  or  Kentucky. 

In  1825,  the  weevil,  for  the  first  time,  made 
its  appearance  in  St.  Clair  and  the  adjacent 
counties,  and  has  occasionally  renewed  its 
visits  since.  Latterly,  some  fields  have  been 
injured  by  the  fly. 

A  common  but  slovenly  practice  amongst 
our  farmers,  is  to  sow  wheat  amongst  the 
standing  corn  in  September,  and  cover  it,  by 
running  a  few  furrows  with  the  plough  be- 
tween the  rows  of  corn.  The  dry  stalks  are 
then  cut  down  in  the  spring,  and  left  on  the 
ground.  Even  by  this  imperfect  mode,  fifteen 
or  twenty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  are 
produced.  But  where  the  ground  is  duly  pre- 
pared by  fallowing,  and  the  seed  put  in  at  the 
proper  time,  a  good  crop,  averaging  from  twen- 
ty-five to  thirty-five  bushels  per  acre  rarely 
fails  to  be  procured. 

The  average  price  of  wheat,  at  present,  is  a 
dollar  per  bushel,  varying  a  little  according 
to  the  competition  of  mills  and  facilities  to 
market.  In  many  instances  a  single  crop  of 
wheat  will  more  than  pay  th'e  expenses  of 
purchasing  the  land,  fencing,  breaking  the 
prairie,  seed,  putting  in  the  crop,  harvesting, 
threshing  and  taking  it  to  market.  Wheat  is 


ILLINOIS.  281 

now  frequently  sown  on  the  prairie  land,  as  a 
first  crop,  and  a  good  yield  obtained. 

Flouring-mills  are  now  in  operation  in  many 
of  the  wheat-growing  counties.  Steam  power 
is  getting  into  extensive  use,  both  for  sawing 
timber  and  manufacturing  flour. 

It  is  to  be  regretted,  that  so  few  of  our 
farmers  have  erected  barns  for  the  security 
of  their  crops.  No  article  is  more  profitable, 
and  really  more  indispensable  to  a  farmer, 
than  a  large  barn. 

Oats  have  not  been  much  raised  till  lately. 
They  are  very  productive,  often  yielding  from 
forty  to  fifty  bushels  on  the  acre,  and  usually 
sell  for  twenty-five  cents  per  bushel.  The 
demand,  for  the  use  of  stage  and  travelers' 
horses,  is  increasing. 

Htmp  is  an  indigenous  plant,  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  this  State,  as  it  is  in  Missouri.  It 
has  riot  been  extensively  cultivated;  but  wher- 
ever tried,  is  found  very  productive,  and  of  an 
excellent  quality.  It  might  be  made  a  staple 
of  the  country. 

Tobacco,  though  a  filthy  and  noxious  weed, 
which  no  human  being  ought  ever  to  use,  can 
be  produced  in  any  quantity,  and  of  the  first 
quality,  in  Illinois. 

Cotton,  for  many  years,  has  been  success- 
fully cultivated  in  this  State,  for  domestic 
use,  and  some  for  exportation.  Two  or  three 
spinning-factories  are  in  operation,  and  pro- 
duce cotton  yarn,  from  the  growth  of  the  coun- 
try, with  promising  success.  This  branch  of 
13 


282 

business  admits  of  enlargement,  and  invites 
the  attention  of  eastern  manufacturers  with 
small  capital.  Much  of  the  cloth  made  in 
families  who  have  emigrated  from  States  south 
of  the  Ohio,  is  from  the  cotton  of  the  country. 

Flax  is  produced  and  of  a  tolerable  quality, 
but  not  equal  to  that  of  the  Northern  States. 
It  is  said  to  be  productive  and  good  in  the 
northern  counties. 

Barley  yields  well,  and  is  a  sure  crop. 

The  palma  chrisii,  or  castor-oil  bean,  is  pro- 
duced in  considerable  quantities,  in  Madison, 
Randolph  and  other  counties,  and  large  quan- 
tities of  oil  are  expressed  and  sent  abroad. 

Sweet  potatoes  are  a  delicious  root,  which 
yields  abundantly,  especially  on  the  American 
bottom  and  rich,  sandy  prairies. 

But  little  has  been  done  to  introduce  culti- 
vated grasses.  The  prairie  grass  looks  coarse 
and  unsavory,  and  yet  our  horses  and  cattle 
will  thrive  well  on  it. 

•  To  produce  timothy  with  success,  the 
ground  must  be  well  cultivated  in  the  sum- 
mer, either  by  an  early  crop,  or  by  fallowing, 
and  the  seed  sown  about  the  twentieth  of  Sep- 
tember, at  the  rate  of  ten  or  twelve  quarts  of 
clean  seed  to  the  acre,  and  lightly  brushed  in. 
If  the  season  is  in  any  way  favorable,  it  will 
get  a  rapid  start  before  winter.  By  the  last 
week  in  June,  it  will  produce  .two  tons  per 
acre,  of  the  finest  hay.  It  then  requires  a 
dressing  of  stable  or  yard-manure,  and  occa- 
sionally the  turf  may  be  scratched  with  a  har- 


ILLINOIS.  283 

row,  to  prevent  the  roots  from  binding  too 
hard.  By  this  process,  timothy  meadows  may 
be  made  and  preserved.  There  are  meadows 
in  St.  Clair  county,  which  have  yielded  heavy 
crops  of  hay  in  succession,  for  several  years, 
and  bid  fair  to  continue,  for  an  indefinite  pe- 
riod. Cattle,  and  especially  horses,  should 
never  be  permitted  to  run  in  meadows,  in  Il- 
linois. The  fall  grass  may  be  cropped  down 
by  calves  and  colts.  There  is  but  little  more 
labor  required  to  produce  a  crop  of  timothy, 
than  a  crop  of  oats;  and  as  there  is  not  a 
stone  or  a  pebble  to  interrupt,  the  soil  may 
be  turned  up  every  third  or  fourth  year,  for 
corn,  and  afterwards  laid  down  to  grass 
again. 

A  species  of  blue  grass  is  cultivated  by 
some  farmers,  for  pastures.  If  well  set,  and 
not  eaten  down  in  summer,  blue  grass  pas- 
tures may  be  kept  green  and  fresh  till  late  in 
autumn,  or  even  in  the  winter.  The  English 
spire-grass  has  been  cultivated  with  success 
in  the  W abash  county. 

Of  the  trefoil,  or  clover,  there  is  but  little 
cultivated.  A  prejudice  exists  against  it,  as 
it  is  imagined  to  injure  horses,  by  affecting 
the  glands  of  the  mouth,  and  causing  them  to 
slaver.  It  grows  luxuriantly,  and  may  be  cut 
for  hay,  early  in  June.  The  white  clover 
comes  in  naturally,  where  the  ground  has 
been  cultivated  and  thrown  by,  or  along  the 
sides  of  old  roads  and  paths.  Clover  pastures 
would  be  excellent  for  swine. 


284  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

•Animals.  Of  wild  animals  there  are  several 
species.  The  buffalo  is  not  found  on  this  side 
of  the  Mississippi,  nor  within  several  hundred 
miles  of  St.  Louis.  This  animal  once  roamed 
at  large  over  the  prairies  of  Illinois,  and  was 
found  in  plenty,  thirty-five  years  since. 

Wolves,  panthers  and  wild-cats  still  exist  on 
the  frontiers  and  through  the  unsettled  por- 
tions of  the  country,  and  annoy  the  farmer,  by 
destroying  his  sheep  and  pigs. 

Deer  are  also  very  numerous,  and  are  val- 
uable, particularly  to  that  class  of  our  popula- 
tion which  has  been  raised  to  frontier  habits; 
the  flesh  affording  them  food,  and  the  skins 
clothing.  Fresh  venison-hams  usually  sell  for 
twenty-five  cents  each,  and  when  properly 
cured,  are  a  delicious  article.  Many  of  the 
frontier  people  dress  the  skins  and  make  them 
into  pantaloons  and  hunting-shirts.  These 
articles  are  indispensable  to  all  who  have  oc- 
casion to  travel,  in  viewing  land,  or  for  any 
other  purpose  beyond  the  settlements,  as  cloth 
garments,  in  the  shrubs  and  vines,  would  soon 
be  in  strings. 

It  is  a  novel  and  pleasing  sight  to  a  stran- 
ger, to  see  the  deer,  in  flocks  of  eight,  ten,  or 
fifteen  in  number,  feeding  on  the  grass  of  the 
prairies,  or  bounding  away,  at  the  sight  of  a 
traveler. 

The  brown  bear  is  also  an  inhabitant  of  the 
unsettled  parts  of  this  State,  although  he  is 
continually  retreating  before  the  advance  of 
civilization. 


ILLINOIS.  285 

Foxes,  racoons,  opossums,  gophars  and  squir- 
rels are  also  numerous,  as  are  muskrats,  otters, 
and  occasionally  beaver,  about  our  rivers  and 
lakes.  Racoons  are  very  common,  and  fre- 
quently do  mischief,  in  the  fall,  to  the  corn. 
Opossums  sometimes  trouble  the  poultry. 

The  gophar  is  a  singular  little  animal,  about 
the  size  of  a  squirrel,  which  burrows  in  the 
ground,  and  is  seldom  seen;  but  its  'works 
make  it  known.  It  labors  during  the  night, 
in  digging  subterranean  passages  in  the  rich 
soil  of  the  prairies,  and  throws  up  hillocks  of 
fresh  earth,  within  a  few  feet  distance  from 
each  other,  and  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inch- 
es in  height. 

The  gray  and  fox  squirrels  often  do  mischief 
in  the  cornfields,  and  the  hunting  of  them 
makes  fine  sport  for  the  boys. 

Common  rabbits  exist  in  every  thicket,  and 
annoy  nurseries  and  young  orchards  exceed- 
ingly. The  fence  around  a  nursery  must  al- 
ways be  so  close  as  to  shut  out  rabbits;  and 
young  apple  trees  must  be  secured,  at  the  ap- 
proach of  winter,  by  tying  straw  or  corn-stalks 
around  their  bodies,  for  two  or  three  feet  in 
height,  or  the  bark  will  be  stripped  off  by 
these  mischievous  animals. 

Wild  horses  are  found  ranging  the  prairies 
and  forests  in  some  parts  of  the  State.  They 
are  small  in  size,  of  the  Indian  or  Canadian 
breed  and  very  hardy.  They  are  found  chief- 
ly in  the  lower  end  of  the  American  bottom, 
near  the  junction  of  the  Kaskaskia  and  Mis- 


286 


sissippi  rivers,  called  the  point.  They  are  the 
offspring  of  the  horses  brought  there  by  the 
first  settlers,  and  which  were  suffered  to  run 
at  large.  The  Indians  of  the  West  have  many 
such  horses,  which  are  commonly  called  In- 
dian ponies. 

Domestic  Jlnimals.  These  are  the  same 
as  are  found  in  other  portions  of  the  United 
States.  But  little  has  been  done  to  improve 
the  breed  of  horses  among  us.  Our  common 
riding  or  working-horses  average  about  fifteen 
hands  in  height.  They  are  much  more  used 
here  than  in  the  Eastern  States,  and  many  a 
farmer  keeps  half  a  dozen  or  more.  Much 
of  the  traveling  throughout  the  western  coun- 
try, both  by  men  and  women,  is  performed  on 
horseback;  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  land 
carriage  is  by  means  of  large  wagons,  with 
from  four  to  six  stout  horses  for  a  team.  A 
great  proportion  of  the  ploughing  is  performed 
by  horse-labor.  Horses  are  more  subject  to 
diseases  in  this  country  than  in  the  old  States, 
which  is  thought  to  be  occasioned  by  bad 
management,  rather  than  by  the  climate.  A 
good  farm-horse  can  be  purchased  for  fifty 
dollars.  Riding  or  carriage-«horses,  of  a  su- 
perior quality,  cost  from  seventy-five  to  eighty 
dollars.  Breeding-mares  are  profitable  stock 
for  every  farmer  to  keep,  as  their  annual  ex- 
pense in  keeping  is  but  trifling:  their  labor  is 
always  needed,  and  their  colts,  when  grown, 
find  a  ready  market.  Some  farmers  keep  a 
stallion  and  eight  or  ten  brood-mares. 


ILLINOIS.  287 

Mules  are  brought  into  Missouri,  and  find 
their  way  to  Illinois,  from  the  Mexican  do- 
minions. They  are  a  hardy  animal,  grow  to 
a  good  size,  and  are  used  by  some,  both  for 
labor  and  riding. 

Our  neat  cattle  are  usually  inferior  in  size  to 
those  of  the  old  States.  This  is  owing  entirely 
to  bad  management.  Our  cows  are  not  pen- 
ned up  in  pasture  fields,  but  suffered  to  run 
at  large  over  the  commons.  Hence  all  the 
calves  are  preserved,  without  respect  to  qual- 
ity, to  entice  the  cows  homeward  at  evening. 
In  autumn  their  food  is  very  scanty,  and 
during  the  winter  they  are  permitted  to  pick 
up  a  precarious  subsistence  amongst  fifty  or  a 
hundred  head  of  cattle.  With  such  manage- 
ment, is  it  surprising  that  our  cows  and  steers 
are  much  inferior  to  those  of  the  old  States? 
And  yet,  our  beef  is  the  finest  in  the  world. 
It  bears  the  best  inspection  of  any  in  the  New 
Orleans  market.  By  the  first  of  June,  and 
often  by  the  middle  of  May,  our  young  cattle 
on  the  prairies  are  fit  for  market.  They  do 
not  yield  large  quantities  of  tallow,  but  the  fat 
is  well  proportioned  throughout  the  carcass, 
and  the  meat  tender  and  delicious.  By  infe- 
riority, then,  I  mean  the  size  of  our  cattle  in 
general,  and  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the 
milk  of  cows. 

Common  cows,  if  suffered  to  hose  their  milk 
in  August,  become  sufficiently  fat  for  table  use 
by  October.  Farrow-heifers  and  steers  are 
good  beef,  and  fit  for  the  knife  at  any  period 
after  the  middle  of  May.  Nothing  is  more 


288  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

common  than  for  an  Illinois  farmer  to  go 
among  his  stock,  select,  shoot  down,  and  dress 
a  line  beef,  whenever  fresh  meat  is  needed. 
This  is  often  divided  out  amongst  the  neigh- 
bors, who,  in  turn,  kill  and  share  likewise.  It 
is  common  at  camp  and  other  large  meetings, 
to  kill  a  beef  and  three  or  four  hogs  for  the 
subsistence  of  friends  from  a  distance. 

Steers  from  three  years  old  or  more,  have 
been  purchased  in  great  numbers  in  Illinois, 
by  drovers  from  Ohio.  Cattle  are  sometimes 
sent  in  flat-boats  down  the  Mississippi  and 
Ohio,  for  the  New  Orleans  market. 

We  can  hardly  place  limits  upon  the  amount 
of  beef  cattle  that  Illinois  is  capable  of  pro- 
ducing. A  farmer  calls  himself  poor,  with  a 
hundred  head  of  horned  cattle  around  him. 
A  cow  in  the  spring  is  worth  from  seven  to 
ten  or  fifteen  dollars.  Some  of  the  best  quality 
will  sell  higher.  And  let  it  be  distinctly  un- 
derstood, once  for  all,  that  a  poor  man  can 
always  purchase  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  and  pro- 
visions, for  labor,  either  by  the  day,  month, 
or  job. 

Cows,  in  general,  do  not  produce  the  same 
amount  of  milk,  nor  of  as  rich  a  quality  as  in 
older  States.  Something  is  to  be  attributed 
to  the  nature,  of  our  pastures,  and  the  warmth 
of  our  climate,  but  more  to  causes  already 
assigned.  If  ever  a  land  was  characterized 
justly,  as  "  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,"  it 
is  Illinois  and  the  adjacent  States.  From  the 
springing  of  the  grass  till  September,  butter 
is  made  in  great  profusion.  It  sells  at  that 


ILLINOIS.  289 

season,  in  market,  for  about  ten  cents.  With 
proper  care,  it  can  be  preserved  in  tolerable 
sweetness  for  winter  use.  Late  in  autumn 
and  early  in  the  winter,  sometimes  butter  is 
not  plenty.  The  feed  becomes  dry,  the  cows 
range  further  off,  and  do  not  come  up  readily 
for  milking,  and  dry  up.  A  very  little  trouble 
would  enable  a  farmer  to  keep  three  or  four 
good  cows  in  fresh  milk  at  the  season  most 
needed. 

Cheese  is  made  by  many  families,  especial- 
ly in  the  counties  bordering  on  the  Illinois 
river.  Good  cheese  sells  for  eight  and  some- 
times ten  cents,  and  finds  a  ready  market. 

Swine.  This  species  of  stock  may  be  called 
a  staple  in  the  provision  of  Illinois.  Thou- 
sands of  hogs  are  raised  without  any  expense, 
except  a  few  breeders  to  start  with,  and  a 
little  attention  in  hunting  them  on  the  range, 
and  keeping  them  tame. 

Pork  that  is  made  in  a  domestic  way,  and 
fatted  on  corn,  will  sell  from  three  to  four  and 
five  dollars,  according  to  size,  quality,  and 
the  time  when  it  is  delivered.  With  a  pasture 
of  clover  or  blue  grass,  a  well-filled  corn  crib, 
a  dairy,  and  slop  barrel,  and  the  usual  care 
that  a  New  Englander  bestows  on  his  pigs, 
pork  may  be  raised  from  the  sow,  fatted,  and 
killed,  and  weigh  from  two  hundred  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty,  within  twelve  months;  and 
this  method  of  raising  pork  would  be  profit- 
able. 

Few  families  in  the  West  and  South  put  up 
their  pork  in  salt  pickle.  Their  method  is  to 


290 


salt  it  sufficiently  to  prepare  it  for  smoking, 
and  then  make  bacon  of  hams,  shoulders,  and 
middlings  or  broadsides.  The  price  of  bacon, 
taking  the  hog  round,  is  about  seven  and  eight 
cents.  Good  hams  command  eight  and  ten 
cents  in  the  St.  Louis  market.  Stock  hogs, 
weighing  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  pounds, 
alive,  usually  sell  from  one  to  two  dollars  per 
head.  Families  consume  much  more  meat  in 
the  West,  in  proportion  to  numbers,  than  in 
the  old  States. 

Sheep  do  very  well  in  this  country,  especial- 
ly in  the  older  settlements,  where  the  grass 
has  become  short,  and  they  are  less  molested 
by  wolves. 

Poultry  is  raised  in  great  profusion;  and 
large  numbers  of  fowls  taken  to  market. 

Ducks,  geese,  swans,  and  many  other 
aquatic  birds,  visit  our  waters  in  the  spring. 
The  small  lakes  and  sloughs  are  often  literally 
covered  with  them.  Ducks,  and  some  of  the 
rest,  frequently  stay  through  the  summer  and 
breed. 

The  prairie  fowl  is  seen  in  great  numbers 
on  the  prairies  in  the  summer,  and  about  the 
cornfields,  in  the  winter.  This  is  the  grouse 
of  the  New  York  market.  They  are  easily 
taken  in  the  winter. 

Partridges  (the  quail  of  New  England), 
are  taken  with  nets,  in  the  winter,  by  hun- 
dreds in  a  day,  and  furnish  no  trifling  item  in 
the  luxuries  of  the  city  market. 

Bees.  These  laborious  and  useful  insects, 
are  found  in  the  trees  of  every  forest. 


ILLINOIS.  291 

Many  of  the  frontier  people  make  it  a  promi- 
nent business,  after  the  frost  has  killed  the 
vegetation,  to  hunt  them  for  the  honey  and 
wax,  both  of  which  find  a  ready  market. 
Bees  are  profitable  stock  for  the  farmer,  and 
are  kept  to  a  considerable  extent. 

Silk-ivorms  are  raised  by  a  few  persons. 
They  are  capable  of  being  produced  to  any 
extent,  and  fed  on  the  common  black  mulberry 
of  the  country. 

Salt.  The  principal  salines  of  this  State 
have  been  mentioned  under  the  head  of  min- 
erals. The  principal  works  are  at  Gallatin, 
Big  Muddy,  and  Vermilion  salines. 

Steam  Mills  for  flouring  and  sawing  are  be- 
coming very  common,  and  in  general  are 
profitable.  Some  are  now  in  operation  with 
four  run  of  stones,  and  which  manufacture 
one  hundred  barrels  of  flour  in  a  day.  Mills 
propelled  by  steam,  water,  and  animal  power, 
are  constantly  increasing.  Steam  mills  will 
become  numerous,  particularly  in  the  southern 
and  middle  portions  of  the  §tate;  and  it  is 
deserving  remark,  that,  while  these  portions 
are  not  well  supplied  with  durable  water 
power,  they  contain,  in  the  timber  of  the 
forest,  and  the  inexhaustible  bodies  of  bitumi- 
nous coal,  abundant  supplies  of  fuel;  while 
the  northern  portion,  though  deficient  in  fuel, 
has  abundant  water  power.  A  good  steam 
saw-mill  with  two  saws,  can  be  built  for  $1500; 
and  a  steam  flouring-mill  with  two  run  of 
stones,  elevators  and  other  apparatus  com- 
plete, and  of  sufficient  force  to  turn  out  forty 


292 

or  fifty  barrels  of  flour  per  day,  may  be  built 
for  from  $3500  to  $5000.  Ox-mills,  on  an  in- 
clined plane,  and  horse-mills,  by  draught,  are 
common  through  the  country. 

Castor  oil.  Considerable  quantities  of  this 
article  have  been  manufactured  in  Illinois, 
from  the  palma  christi,  or  castor-bean.  One 
bushel  of  the  beans  will  make  nearly  two  gal- 
lons of  the  oil.  There  are  five  or  six  castor- 
oil  presses  in  the  State;  in  Madison,  Randolph, 
Edwards,  and  perhaps  in  other  counties.  Mr. 
Adams,  of  Edwardsville,  in  1825,  made  five 
hundred  gallons,  which  then  sold  at  the  rate 
of  $2  50  per  gallon; — in  1826,  he  made  eight 
hundred  gallons; — in  1827,  one  thousand  gal- 
lons, the  price  then,  $1  75; — in  1828,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  gallons,  price  $1 : — in 
1830,  he  started  two  .presses,  and  made  up- 
wards of  ten  thousand  gallons,  which  sold  for 
from  seventy-five  to  eighty-seven  cents  per 
gallon; — in  1831,  about  the  same  quantity. 
That  and  the  following  season  being  unfavor- 
able for  the  production  of  the  bean,  there  has 
been  a  falling  off  in  the  quantity.  The  amount 
manufactured  in  other  parts  of  the  State  has 
probably  exceeded  that  made  by  Mr  Adams. 

Lead.  In  Jo  Daviess  county  are  eight  or 
ten  furnaces  for  smelting  lead.  The  amount 
of  this  article  made  annually  at  the  minus  of 
the  Upper  Mississippi,  has  been  given  under 
the  head  of  minerals. 

Manufactures.  In  the  infancy  of  a  State, 
little  can  be  expected  in  machinery  and  manu- 
factures. And  in  a  region  so  much  deficient 


ILLINOIS.  293 

in  water  power  as  some  parts  of  Illinois  are, 
still  less  may  be  looked  for;  yet  Illinois  is  not 
entirely  deficient  in  manufacturing  enterprise. 

There  is  in  this  State,  as  in  all  the  West- 
ern States,  a  large  amount  of  domestic  manu- 
factures made  by  families.  All  the  trades, 
nedful  to  a  new  country,  are  in  existence. 
Carpenters,  wagon-makers,  cabinet-makers, 
blacksmiths,  tanners,  &c.,  may  be  found  in 
every  county  and  town,  and  thousands  more 
are  wanted. 

There  has  been  a  considerable  falling  off  in 
the  manufacture  of  whisky  within  a  few  years, 
and  it  is  sincerely  hoped  by  thousands  of  our 
citizens  that  this  branch  of  business,  so  de- 
cidedly injurious  to  the  morals  and  happiness 
of  communities  and  individuals,  will  entirely 
decline.  Several  companies,  for  manufactur- 
ing purposes,  have  been  incorporated  by  the 
legislature. 

Boat-huilding  will  soon  become  a  branch 
of  business  in  this  State.  Some  steam-boats 
have  been  constructed  already  within  this 
State,  along  the  Mississippi.  It  is  thought 
that  Alton  and  Chicago  are  convenient  sites 
for  this  business. 

Civil  Divisions.  There  are  sixty-six  coun- 
ties laid  off  in  this  State,  fifty-nine  of  which 
are  organized  for  judicial  purposes.  The 
counties  of  Will,  Whiteside,  Kane,  Ogle, 
McHenry  and  Winnebago  were  laid  off  at  the 
session  of  the  legislature,  Jan.  1836.  The 
county  of  Will  was  formed  from  portions  of 
Cook,  Lasalle  and  Iroquois,  with  the  town  of 


294 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


Juliet,  near  the  junction  of  the  Kankakee  and 
Des  Plaines,  for  its  seat  of  justice. 

In  this  State  there  are  no  civil  divisions  into 
townships,  -as  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  &c.  The 
township  tracts  of  six  miles  square,  in  the 
public  surveys,  relate  exclusively  to  the  land 
system.  The  State  is  divided  into  three  dis- 
tricts to  elect  representatives  to  Congress,  and 
into  six  circuits  for  judicial  purposes. 

Tabular  View  of  the  Counties. 


Counties. 

Date  of 
Formation. 

|j 

r/f£ 

i 

0 

> 

c 

|f 

Is 

Soats  of  Justice. 

Bearing  and 
distance  frm 
Vandalia. 

Acldtns,  
Alexander,.  .  .  . 
Bond  

1825 
1819 
1817 
1825 
1833 

1819 

]824 
18-24 
1816 
1830 
18M 
1823 
1814 
1831 
1821 
1818 
1825 
1812 
1821 
1821 
1825 

1825 
1833 
1816 

8-20 
375 
360 

260 
864 

500 

620 
500 
378 
1248 

J* 

200 
486 
684 
850 
590 
828 
912 

?s 
r 

576 

7?8 
219 
519 
151 
102 

451 

172 
414 
519 
680 
528 
788 
239 
129 
665 
759 
607 
1312 
1360 
460 
357 

67 
354 

7042 
2050 
3580 
1091 
1045 

"3413 

1648 
2648 
3.54(1 
5125 
98  !6 
6668 
2T>r> 
I05"» 
3fi38 
5551 
5917 
8660 
12  '74 
2877 
3249 

118 
1164 
2783 

175  n.w. 
135  a. 
19  w.s.w. 
134  w.n.w. 

103  7t.7l.C- 

82e.n.e. 

50  $  c. 
28  s.s.w. 
100  e. 

Unity   

Greenville,  
Gilead    

Calhonn,  
Champaign,  .. 

Clark 

Urbanna,  
Darwin,*  or  1 
Marshall,       j  "" 
.Mavsville,  
Ciirlyle  

Clay,  

Clinton  . 

Crawford,  

Palestine,  

Coles,  
Cook.  
Ed?ur,  

2R8  71.71.8. 

100  n.e. 
96  s.e. 
29  e.n.e.. 

83  s. 
135  re.  n.w. 
100.*.«.e. 
90  w.n.w. 
76s.s  e. 
180  n.w. 

210  ra.  n.w. 
165  n.n.e. 
96  s.s.w. 

P.riV-'  

Kflwariln,  
Effingham,  

VANDALIA,  

Franklin,  

LP  Wigtown,  
Equality,  
Carrolltun     

Gallatin,  

Greeno 

Hamilton,  
Hancock,  
Henry,  (not  or- 
ganized, .  .  .  . 
Iroquoii5,  
Jackson,  

McLeansboro',  .  .  . 

(Not  established),. 
Brownsville,  

*  It  is  expected  the  seat  of  justice  of  Clark  county  will  be  removed 
to  Marshall,  ten  miles  north-west  from  Darwin,  and  on  the  national 
road.  The  distance  is  computed  to  Marshall. 


ILLINOIS. 


295 


Counties. 

Date  of 
Formation. 

|j 

gl 

I 

Population 
in  1830. 

Seats  of  Justice. 

Boaring  and 
distance  frm 
Vandalia. 

Jasper,  

1831 
1819 
1627 
1812 
1836 
18->5 
1831 
1821- 
1829 
18J2 
1829 
1823 
1825 
J836 
1830 
1825 
1816 
1821 
18-3 
1836 
1825 
1827 
182! 
1816 
1825 
1795 
1831 
1821 
1825 
1897 
1795 
1827 
1818 
1826 
1824 
1825 
1818 
1819 
1815 
1836 
1836 
1836 

i288    
576    455 
t       492 
48Q   316 

792,  180 

5ysi 

1404;  292 
7501307 
720    624 
576    37--> 
576  1  304 

19I61  493 
558   
3i.\  449 
960?  475 
1.502717 

648    2>3 
446    273 
800    657 

r.Tii  41-1 

1340    383 
540    814 
377!     83 
12342219 
864'  680 
1080    63fi 
1030  1183 

mo.  433 

396    515 
1000  1025 
180    441 
900    2f>6 
65H    333 
576    471 
516    977 

415 
3350 
4038 
2166 

160(1 
4754 
4450 
302'J 
9016 
55.54 
2844 
•2883 

5311 
497 
2(560 
3740 
19:214 

3220 

2>0! 
6037 
37of: 
4021 
5695 
616| 
17573; 
6351| 
48181 
90551 
58.51) 
41561 
8  03 
3010 
2623 
3'92 
2939 
6489 

Newton,  
Mount  Vernon,... 
jfalena,  

60  e. 
48  s.s.e. 
300  n  n.w. 
120s. 

18=2  n.n.w. 
187  n. 
88  e.s.e. 
75ra. 
58  w. 
55  w.n.w. 
"5  s.s.e. 
155  n.w. 

1^0  TO. 

209  n.w. 
72  s.w. 
28  n.w. 
91  n.w. 

141  n.n.w. 
71  ss.w. 
126  w.n.w. 
1:0  s.s.e. 
180  n. 
90  s.s.w. 
-•00  n.w. 
79  n.n.w. 
128  n.w. 
40  n.n.e. 
64  w.s.w. 
131  n. 
120s. 
135  n.e. 
95  s.e. 
184  n.w. 
48  s.s.w. 
76  s  e. 
103  s.e. 

Jefferson,  .  .  t^. 
Jo  Daviessjty^i 

Kane,J 

inoxville,  

Knux,  

Lasalle    

Lawrence,  .... 
Macon,  

Lawrpncevillo,  ... 
Dec'iti'r 

Madison,  
Macoupen,.... 

Kdwardsville,  .... 
Jiirlinville,  

McDnnough,  .. 
McHemy,!.... 
McLean,   ..... 
Mercer 

.Macoinh,  

iJloomington,  
Xew  Boston,  
Waterloo,  

Monroe,  
Montgomery,  .  . 

Hillsboro'  

facksonvillfi,    .... 
Peoria,  

Of\et  '  

Perry    

^inckneyville,.  .  .  . 
Pitt-h'"ld 

Pike 

Pope,  

Tdlconda,  
icnnepin  

Putnam,  

Randolph,  
Rock  Island,  .. 
Sansrimon,.... 
Schnyler,  
Sheldv,  

K  iskaskia  

^tephenson,  
Springfield,  

Rushvillp,  
"hdbwille,  
BeHvlfle,  

Ft.  Clair,  
Tazewell.  
Union 

Joncsboro',  
Danville,  

Vermilion  

Mount  Carmel,... 

Warren,  
Washington,  .. 
Wayne,  
Wh'ite,   
Whiteside,!  .  .  . 
Will,}........ 

Nashville    ...     . 

Fairfield,  

Juliet,  

Winnebago,£.  . 





•f  These  counties  have  been  recently  subdivided,  and  their  super- 
ficial area  is  not  known. 

J  These  counties  were  formed  January,  1836,  and  wore  taken  from 
Jo  Daviess,  Lasalle,  Cook  and  Iroquois.  The  seats  of  justice  not  es- 
tablished, and  much  of  the  land  unsurveyed,  though  rapidly  settling. 


296  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

The  following  is  a  sketch  of  each  county 
in  the  State: 

Jldams. — The  streams  are  Bear  creek  and 
branches,  Cedar,  Tyrer,  Mill,  Fall,  and  Pigeon 
creeks,  with  the  Mississippi  river  on  its  west- 
ern border.  Timber  various,  with  equal  por- 
tions of  prairie.  First  rate  county. 

Alexander. — In  the  forks  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi,  with  Cash  river  through  it.  All 
timbered, — half  alluvion, — some  inundated  at 
high  water, — lime  and  sandstone  on  the  Ohio; 
— soil,  generally  rich. 

Bond. Shoal    creek     and     its    branches 

through  it,  with  Hurricane  creek  on  the  east 
side; — proportioned  into  timber  and  prairie; 
rather  level;  second  rate.  Sandstone,  coal, 
and  salt  springs. 

Calhoun. — Long  and  narrow,  in  the  forks 
of  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi; — alluvial  and 
sometimes  inundated  along  the  rivers ; — 
broken  bluffs  and  interior  table  land; — good 
soil; — prairies  at  the  foot  of  the  bluffs.  Coal, 
lime  and  sandstone. 

Champaign. — The  streams  are  the  heads 
of  the  Kaskaskia,  Sangamon,  Vermilion  of 
Illinois,  Salt  Fork  of  the  Vermilion  of  the 
Wabash,  and  the  Embarras,  all  running  in 
opposite  directions.  Extensive  prairies,  a 
little  undulating  and  rich; — timber  in  groves; 
— many  granite  bowlders. 

Clark. — North  Fork  of  Embarras,  Mill  and 
Big  creeks.  Timber  and  prairie, — second 
rate  soil. 


ILLINOIS.  297 

Clay. — Watered  by  Little  Wabash  and 
tributaries.  Two  thirds  prairie, — of  inferior 
quality, — rather  level  and  wet. 

Clinton. — Kaskaskia  river,  with  its  tribu- 
taries, Crooked,  Shoal,  Beaver  and  Sugar 
creeks  pass  through  it.  Equally  proportioned 
into  timber  and  prairie.  Soil,  second  rate; 
surface,  a  little  undulating. 

{Cohs. — The  Kaskaskia,  Embarras,  and 
heads  of  the  Little  Wabash  water  it.  Much 
excellent  land, — mu  :h  undulating,  rich  prai- 
rie; — some  level  and  wet  land  in  the  south- 
eastern part.  Timber  in  sufficient  quanti- 
ties. 

Cook. — Adjoins  Lake'  Michigan,  and  has 
the  branches  of  Chicago,  Des  Plaines,  Du 
Page,  Au  Sable  and  Hickory  creeks.  Sur- 
face, tolerably  level;  rich  soil, — extensive 
prairies, — timbe^  in  groves; — a  few  swamps. 
Plenty  of  limestone,  and  the  streams  run  over 
rocky  beds. 

Crawford. — The  Wabash  river  on  its  east- 
ern side,  with  Lamotte,  Hudson,  Racoon  and 
Sugar  creeks.  Some  level  prairies,  rather 
sandy,  with  a  full  supply  of  timber. 

Edgar. — Watered  by  Big,  Clear,  and  Bru- 
lette's  creeks  on  the  eastern,  and  Little  Em- 
barras on  its  western  side.  Southern  and 
eastern  sides  timbered;  northern  and  western 
sides  much  prairie;  some  undulating, — some 
level  and  rather  wet.  Grand  View  is  a 
delightful  tract  of  country. 

Edwards. — The  Little  Wabash  on  its  west- 
13* 


298 


ern,  and  Bon  Pas  on  its  eastern  border. 
vSeveral  prairies,  high,  undulating,  and  bound- 
ed by  heavy  timber.  Soil,  second  quality. 

Effingham. — Watered  by  the  Little  Wa- 
bash  and  its  tributaries;  due  proportion  of 
timber  and  prairie;  tolerably  level, — second 
rate. 

Fayette. — Kaskaskia  river,  Hurricane,  Hig- 
gens',  Ramsey's  and  Beck's  creeks.  The 
bottom  lands  on  the  Kaskaskia  low  and  inun- 
dated at  high  water;  considerable  prairie; 
much  heavy  timber;  soil,  second  rate. 

Franklin. — Watered  by  the  Big  Muddy 
and  its  branches,  and  the  South  Fork  of  Saline 
creek.  The  prairies  small,  fertile  and  level, 
— timber  plenty, — soil  rather  sandy. 

Fulton. — The  Illinois  on  the  south-eastern 
side,  with  Spoon  river  and  several  small 
creeks  through  it.  About  half  heavily  tim- 
bered, with  rich,  undulating  prairies;  streams 
flow  over  a  pebbly  bed;  soil,  first  rate. 

Gal  latin. — Joins  the  Wabash  and  Ohio 
rivers,  and  has  the  Saline  and  branches  run- 
ning through  it.  Soil,  sandy,  with  sandrock, 
limestone,  quartz  crystals,  excellent  salines, 
&.c.  Timber  of  various  kinds;  no  prairies. 

Greene — Has  the  Mississippi  south,  the 
Illinois  west,  with  Otter,  Macoupen  and  Apple 
creeks.  Much  excellent  land,  both  timber 
and  prairie,  in  due  proportion,  with  abundance 
of  lirne,  and  sandstone,  and  coal. 

Hamilton. — Watered  by  branches  of  the 
Saline  and  Little  Wabash;  a  large  proportion, 


ILLINOIS.  299 

timbered  land;  soil,  second  and  third  rate, 
with  some  swamp  in  the  northern  part.  Sand- 
stone and  some  lime. 

Hancock. — Besides  the  Mississippi,  it  has 
a  part  of  Bear,  Crooked,  and  Camp  creeks; 
large  prairies;  timber  along  the  streams;  rich, 
first  rate  land. 

Henry — Has  Rock  river  north,  with  Win- 
nebago  swamp,  and  its  outlet  or  Green  river, 
and  one  of  the  heads  of  Spoon  river,  and 
Edwards  river  interior.  Some  rich,  undula- 
ting prairies  and  groves,  with  considerable 
wet,  swampy  land.  Not  much  population. 

Iroquois. — Kankakee,  Iroquois  and  Sugar 
creek.  Sand  ridges  and  ptains;  much  rich 
prairie;  some  timber,  but  deficient.  It  'is 
found  chiefly  in  groves  and  strips  along  the 
water  courses. 

Jackson — Has  the  Mississippi  on  the  south- 
west, and  Muddy  river  running  diagonally 
through  it,  with  some  of  its  tributaries.  Some 
prairies  in  the  north-eastern  part, — much 
heavy  timber, — some  hilly  and  broken  land, — 
with  abundance  of  coal,  saline  springs,  lime 
and  sandstone. 

Jasper. — The  Embarras  runs  through  it, 
and  the  Muddy  Fork  of  the  Little  Wabash 
waters  its  western  side.  Much  of  both  the 
prairie  and  timbered  land  is  level  and  rather 
wet;  some  fertile  tracts. 

Jefferson. — Watered  by  several  branches 
of  the  Big  Muddy  and  Little  Wabash.  Soil, 
second  rate;  surface,  a  little  undulating;  one 


300  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

third  prairie;  several  sulphur  and  other  medi- 
cinal springs. 

Jo  Daviess — Formerly  embraced  all  the 
State  north-west  of  Rock  river,  but  recently 
divided  into  three  or  four  counties.  Besides 
the  Mississippi,  it  has  Fever  river,  Pekatono- 
kee,  Apple  river,  arid  Rush  and  Plum  creeks. 
A  rich  county,  both  for  agricultural  and 
mining  purposes.  Timber  scarce,  and  in 
groves;  surface,  undulating, — in  some  places 
hilly;  well  watered  by  streams  and  springs, 
and  has  good  mill  sites.  Copper  and  lead  ore 
in  abundance. 

Johnson. — The  Ohio  on  the  south,  Cash 
river  and  Big  Bay  creek,  and  a  series  of  lakes 
or  ponds  interior.  A  timbered  country,  toler- 
ably level;  soil  sandy,  with  considerable  quan- 
tities of  second  rate  laud. 

Knox. — Watered  by  Henderson  and  Spoon 
rivers,  and  their  tributaries.  The  prairies 
large,  moderately  undulating,  and  first  quality 
of  soil,  with  excellent  timber  along  the  water 
courses. 

Lasalle. — Besides  the  Illinois  river,  which 
passes  through  it,  Fox  river,  Big  and  Little 
Vermilion,  Crow,  Au  Sable,  Indian,  Mason, 
Tomahawk,  and  other  creeks,  water  this 
county.  They  generally  run  on  a  bed  of  sand 
or  lime  rock,  and  have  but  little  alluvial  bot- 
tom lands.  Deficient  in  timber,  but  has  an 
abundance  of  rich,  undulating  prairie,  beau- 
tiful groves,  abundant  water  privileges,  and 
extensive  coal  banks. 


ILLINOIS.  301 

Lawrence. — The  \Vabash  east,  Fox  river 
west,  and  Embarras  and  Racoon  through  it. 
An  equal  proportion  of  timber  and  prairie, 
some  excellent,  other  parts  inferior, — and 
some  bad,  miry  swamps,  called  "purgato- 
ries." 

Macon. — South-east  portion,  watered  by  the 
Kaskaskia  and  tributaries;  the  middle  and 
northern  portions  by  the  North  Fork  of  San- 
gamon,  and  the  north-western  part  by  Salt 
creek.  The  prairies  large,  and  in  their  inte- 
rior, level  and  wet, — toward*  the  timber,  dry, 
undulating  and  rich. 

Madison. — The  Mississippi  lies  west;  Ca- 
hokia  and  Silver  creeks,  and  Wood  river,  run 
through  it.  A  part  of  this  county  lies  in  the 
American  bottom,  and  is  a  rich  and  level  allu- 
vion; but  much  of  the  county  is  high,  undu- 
lating, and  proportionably  divided  into  timber 
and  prairie.  Well  supplied  with  stone  quar- 
ries and  coal  banks. 

Macoupen. The    Macoupen    creek    and 

branches  water  its  central  and  western  parts, 
the  Cahokia,  the  south-eastern,  and  the  heads 
of  Wood  river  and  Piasau,  the  south-western 
parts.  A  large  proportion  of  the  county  is 
excellent  soil,  well  proportioned  into  timber 
and  prairie,  and  slightly  undulating. 

Marion. — WTatered  by  the  East  Fork,  and 
Crooked  creek,  tributaries  of  Kaskaskia  river, 
on  its  western,  and  heads  of  Skillet  Fork  of 
Little  Wabash  on  its  eastern  sides.  Much  of 
the  land  of  second  quality,  slightly  undulating, 


302  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

about  one  third  timbered, — some  of  the  prai- 
rie land  level,  and  inclined  to  be  wet. 

McDonougk. Crooked     creek     and     its 

branches  water  most  of  the  county.  The 
eastern  side,  for  eight  or  ten  miles  in  width, 
is  prairie, — the  western  and  middle  parts 
suitably  divided  between  prairie  and  forest 
land;  surface,  moderately  undulating;  soil, 
very  rich. 

McLean. — One  third  of  the  eastern,  and  a 
portion  of  the  northern  side,  is  one  vast  prai- 
rie. The  timber  is  beautifully  arranged  in 
groves;  the  surface  moderately  undulating, 
and  the  soil  dry  and  rich.  The  head  waters 
of  the  Sangamon,  Mackinau,  and  the  Ver- 
milion of  the  Illinois,  are  in  this  county.  Its 
minerals  are  quarries  of  lime  and  sandstone, 
and  granite  bowlders,  scattered  over  the 
prairies. 

Mercer — Has  the  Mississippi  on  the  west, 
and  Pope  and  Edwards  rivers  interior,  along 
which  are  fine  tracts  of  timber;  in  its  middle 
and  eastern  parts  are  extensive  prairies;  sur- 
face, generally  undulating;  soil,  rich. 

Monroe. — Watered  by  Horse,  Prairie  de 
Long,  and  Fountain  creeks.  The  American 
bottom  adjacent  to  the  Mississippi  is  rich  allu- 
vion, and  divided  into  timber  and  prairie.  On 
the  bluffs  are  ravines  and  sink-holes,  with 
broken  land.  Further  interior  is  a  mixture  of 
timber  and  prairie.  Abundance  of  limestone, 
coal,  and  some  copper. 

Montgomery. — Watered    by     Shoal    creek 


ILLINOIS.  303 

and  branches,  and  Hurricane  Fork.  Surface, 
high  and  undulating,  and  proportionately  di- 
vided into  timber  and  prairie.  Soil,  second 
rate. 

Morgan. — A  first  rate  county, — well  pro- 
portioned into  prairie  and  forest  lands, — much 
of  the  surface  undulating;  watered  by  the  Illi- 
nois river  and  Mauvaise-terre,  Indian,  Plum, 
Walnut,  and  Sandy  creeks,  and  heads  of 
Apple  creek.  Coal,  lime  and  freestone. 

Peoria. — Watered  by  the  Illinois,  Kicka- 
poo,  Copperas,  Senatchwine,  and  heads  of 
Spoon  river.  Surface,  moderately  rolling, 
rich  soil,  and  proportionably  divided  into 
prairie  and  forest. 

Perry. — Streams;  Big  Beaucoup,  and  Little 
Muddy;  one  third  prairie,  tolerably  level,  and 
second  rate  soil. 

Pike. Besides  Mississippi  and  Illinois, 

which  wash  two  sides,  it  has  the  Suycartec 
slough  running  through  its  western  border, 
and  navigable  for  steam-boats,  and  a  number 
of  smaller  creeks.  The  land  and  surface 
various, — much  of  it  excellent  undulating  soil, 
— some  rich  alluvion,  inundated  at  high  water, 
— large  tracts  of  table  land,  high,  rolling,  and 
rich,  with  due  proportion  of  timber  and  prai- 
rie. A  large  salt  spring. 

Pope. — With  the  Ohio  river  east  and  south, 
it  has  Big  Bay,  Lusk's,  and  Big  creeks  inte- 
rior. A  timbered  region,  tolerably  level,  ex- 
cept at  the  bluffs,  with  good  sandy  soil,  and 
sand  and  limestone. 


304  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Putnam. — The  Illinois  runs  through  it, — 
Spoon  river  waters  its  north-western  part,  and 
Bureau,  Crow,  Sandy,  and  some  other  streams, 
water  its  middle  portions.  Here  are  beautiful 
groves  of  timber,  and  rich,  undulating  and 
dry  prairies,  fine  springs,  and  good  mill  sites. 
Lime,  sand  and  freestone,  and  bituminous 
coal.  A  few  tracts  of  wet  prairie,  with  some 
ponds  and  swamps,  are  in  the  north-western 
part. 

Randolph — Has  the  Mississippi  along  the 
western  side;  Kaskaskia  river  passes  diago- 
nally through  it:  soil,  of  every  quality,  from 
first  rate  to  indifferent;  surface,  equally  as 
various,  with  rocky  precipices  at  the  termin- 
ation of  the  alluvial  bottoms. 

Rock  Island — -Is  at  the  mouth  of  Rock  riv- 
er, which,  with  the  Mississippi  and  some 
minor  streams,  drain  the  county.  Rich  allu- 
vion along  the  Mississippi,  with  much  excel- 
lent table  land, — both  timber  and  prairie  inte- 
rior. Some  wet,  level  prairie,  south  of  Rock 
river. 

Sangamon. — Watered  by  Sangamon  river 
and  its  numerous  branches.  Much  of  the  soil 
is  of  the  richest  quality,  with  due  proportions 
of  timber  and  prairie,  moderately  undulating, 
and  a  first  rate  county. 

Schuyler. — The  south-eastern  side  has  the 
Illinois,  the  interior  has  Crooked  and  Crane 
creeks,  and  the  south-west  has  McKee's  creek. 
Along  the  Illinois  is  much  timber,  with  some 
inundated  bottom  lands.  Interior,  there  is  a 


ILLINOIS.  305 

due  proportion  of  prairie,  and  timber,  and  rich 
soil,  with  an  undulating  surface. 

Shelby — Is  watered  by  the  Kaskaskia  and 
tributaries;  has  a  large  amount  of  excellent 
land,  both  timber  and  prairie,  with  good  soil, 
moderately  undulating. 

St.  Clair. —  The  streams  are  Cahokia, 
Prairie  du  Pont,  Ogle's,  Silver,  Richland,  and 
Prairie  de  Long  creeks,  and  Kaskaskia  river. 
The  land  is  various,  much  of  which  is  good, 
first  and  second  rate,  and  proportionably  di- 
vided into  timber,  prairie,  and  barrens.  The 
minerals  are  lime  and  sandstone,  and  exten- 
sive beds  of  coal  and  shale. 

Tazewell. — Watered  by  the  Illinois,  Mack- 
inau,  and  their  tributaries.  Much  of  the 
surface  is  undulating,  soil  rich;  prairie  pre- 
dominates, but  considerable  timber,  with  some 
broken  land  about  the  bluffs  of  Mackinau,  and 
some  sand  ridges  and  swamps  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  county. 

Union. — Watered  by  the  Mississippi,  Clear 
creek,  the  heads  of  Cash,  and  some  of  the 
small  tributaries  of  the  Big  Muddy.  Much  of 
the  surface  is  rolling  and  hilly, — all  forest 
land.  Soil,  second  and  third  rate.  Some  rich 
alluvial  bottom. 

Vermilion — Is  watered  by  Big  and  Little 
Vermilion  of  the  Wabash,  with  large  bodies 
of  excellent  timber  along  the  streams,  and 
rich  prairies  interior.  Surface,  undulating 
and  dry;  soil,  deep,  rich  and  calcareous. 

Wabash — -Has  Wabash  river  on  the  east, 
14 


306  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Bon  Pas  on  the  west,  and  some  small  creeks 
central;  surface,  rolling,  and  a  mixture  of 
timber  and  prairie;  soil,  generally  second 
rate.  Minerals;  lime  and  sandstone. 

Warren. — Besides  the  Mississippi,  its  prin- 
cipal stream  is  Henderson  river,  whirh  passes 
through  it,  with  Ellison,  Honey,  and  Camp 
creeks.  Much  of  the  land  on  these  streams 
is  rich,  undulating,  deficient  somewhat  in 
timber,  with  excellent  prairie.  Along  the 
Mississippi,  and  about  the  mouth  of  Hender- 
son, the  land  is  inundated  in  high  water. 

Washington — Has  the  Kaskaskia  on  its 
north-western  side,  wifh  Elkhorn,  Little  Mud- 
dy, Beaucoup,  and  Little  Crooked  creeks  in- 
terior. The  prairies  are  rather  level,  and  in 
places  inclined  to  be  wet;  the  timber,  espe- 
cially along  the  Kaskaskia,  heavy. 

Wayne. — The  Little  Wabash,  with  its  trib- 
utaries, Elm  river,  and  Skillet  Fork,  are  its 
streams.  It  is  proportionably  interspersed 
with  prairie  and  woodland,  generally  of  second 
quality. 

Wliite. — The  eastern  side  washed  by  the 
Big  Wabash,  along  which  is  a  low,  inundated 
bottom;  the  interior  is  watered  by  the  Little 
Wabash  and  its  tributaries.  Some  prairie, 
but  mostly  timber.  Soil  and  surface  various. 
Some  rich  bottom  prairies,  with  sandy  soil. 

Towns.  VANDALIA  is  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment till  1840;  after  which,  it  is  to  be  removed 
to  Alton,  according  to  a  vote  of  the  people,  in 
1834, — unless  they  should  otherwise  direct. 


ILLINOIS.  307 

It  is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Kaskas- 
kia  river,  in  north  latitude  39°  0'  42",  and 
fifty-eight  miles  in  a  direct  line,  a  little  north 
of  east  from  Alton.  The  public  buildings  are 
temporary.  Population,  about  seven  hundred 
and  fifty. 

Jilton.  Two  towns  of  this  name  are  distin- 
guished as  Alton,  and  Upper  Alton.  Alton  is 
an  incorporated  town,  situated  on  the  bank  of 
the  Mississippi,  two  and  a  half  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  and  at  the  place 
where  the  curve  of  the  Mississippi  penetrates 
the  furthest  into  Illinois,  eighteen  miles  be- 
low the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river.  For 
situation,  commerce,  business  of  all  kinds, 
health,  and  rapidity  of  growth,  it  far  exceeds 
any  other  town  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, above  New  Orleans.  The  population 
is  about  two  thousand.  The  commercial 
business  done  here  is  already  immense,  and 
extends  through  more  than  half  of  Illinois, 
besides  a  large  trade  on  the  western  side  of 
the  Mississippi.  Five  large  mercantile  estab- 
lishments do  wholesale  business  only,  four  do 
wholesale  and  retail,  besides  four  wholesale 
and  retail  groceries,  and  fifteen  or  twenty 
retail  stores  and  groceries;  and  yet  many 
more  mercantile  houses  are  necessary  for  the 
business  of  the  country.  Great  facilities  for 
business  of  almost  every  description,  especial- 
ly for  every  kind  of  mechanics,  are  to  be  had 
here.  It  offers  one  of  the  best  situations  on 
the  western  waters  for  building  and  repairing 


308 


steam-boats.  Town  lots  and  lands  adjacent, 
have  risen  in  value  from  five  hundred  to  one 
thousand  per  cent,  within  the  last  twelve 
months. 

Alton  has  respectable  and  well  finished 
houses  of  worship,  for  the  Presbyterian, 
Methodist  Protestant,  and  Baptist  denomina- 
tions; two  good  schools,  a  lyceum,  that  holds 
weekly  meetings,  and  two  printing-offices. 
The  population  in  general,  is  a  moral,  indus- 
trious, enterprising  class.  Few  towns  in  the 
West  have  equalled  this  in  contributions  for 
public  and  benevolent  objects,  in  proportion 
to  age  and  population. 

Arrangements  have  been  made  for  doing 
an  extensive  business  in  the  slaughtering  and 
packing  of  pork  and  beef.  Four  houses  are 
engaged  in  that  line,  which  slaughtered  about 
twenty-five  thousand  hogs  the  last  season. 
Many  buildings  will  be  erected  the  present 
season,  amongst  which  will  be  an  extensive 
hotel,  which  is  much  needed.  The  town  is 
situated  at  the  base,  side,  and  top,  of  the  first 
blufis  that  extend  to  the  river,  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Kaskaskia.  Adjacent  to  it,  and 
which  will  eventually  become  amalgamated, 
is  Middleton,  laid  off  directly  in  the  rear. 

Upper  Jlllon  is  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
miles  back  from  the  river,  and  in  the  rear  of 
Lower  Alton,  on  elevated  ground,  and  in  every 
respect  a  very  healthy  situation.  It  has  ex- 
ceeding one  hundred  and  twenty  families,  and 
is  rapidly  improving.  Adjacent  to  it,  and 


ILLINOIS.  309 

forming  now  a  part  of  the  town  plat,  is 
"  Shurtleff  College,  of  Alton,  Illinois,"  which 
bids  fair  to  become  an  important  and  flourish- 
ing institution.  Also,  "Alton  Theological 
Seminary,"  which  has  commenced  operations. 
Both  these  institutions  have  been  gotten  up 
under  the  influence  and  patronage  of  the 
Baptist  denomination.  A  female  seminary, 
of  a  high  order,  under  the  name  of  the  "Al- 
ton Female  Institute,"  has  been  chartered,  and 
a  building  is  about  to  be  erected  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  Baptists,  Methodists  and  Presby- 
terians have  congregations  here,  and  two 
houses  of  worship  were  built  the  past  year. 

Chicago  is  the  largest  commercial  town  in 
Illinois.  It  is  situated  at  the  junction  of 
north  and  south  branches,  and  along  the  main 
Chicago,  near  its  entrance  into  lake  Michi- 
gan, on  a  level  prairie,  but  elevated  above 
the  highest  floods.  A  recent  communication, 
from  a  respectable  mercantile  house,  gives 
the  following  statistics:  "Fifty-one  stores, 
thirty  groceries,  ten  taverns,  twelve  physi- 
cians, twenty-one  attornies,  and  4000  inhabit- 
ants. We  have  four  churches,  and  two  more 
building,  one  bank,  a  marine  and  fire  insur- 
ance company  about  to  go  into  operation,  and 
a  brick  hotel  containing  ninety  apartments. 

There  were  nine  arrivals  and  departures  of 
steam-boats  in  1835,  and  two  hundred  and 
sixty-seven,  of  brigs  and  schooners,  contain- 
ing 5015  tons  of  merchandise,  and  9400  bar- 
rels of  salt,  besides  lumber,  provisions,  &c. 


310  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

The  harbor  now  constructing  by  the  United 
States  government,  will  be  so  far  completed 
in  1836,  as  to  admit  vessels  and  steam-boats 
navigating  the  lakes.  A  few  miles  back  of 
Chicago,  are  extensive  tracts  of  wet  prairie. 

Galena  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  Jo  Daviess 
county,  situated  on  Fever  river,  in  the  midst 
of  the  mining  district.  It  has  about  twenty 
stores,  a  dozen  groceries,  and  about  1000 
inhabitants. 

Springfield  is  near  the  geographical  centre 
of  the  State,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  most  fertile 
region  of  country.  It  is  a  flourishing  inland 
town,  and  contains  about  2000  inhabitants. 
Jacksonville,  the  county  seat  of  Morgan  coun- 
ty, has  about  the  same  population,  and  is 
equally  delightful  and  flourishing. 

One  mile  west,  on  a  most  beautiful  emi- 
nence, stands  "Illinois  College,"  founded 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Presbyterian  de- 
nomination, and  bids  fair  to  become  a  flour- 
ishing seat  of  learning. 

I  have  not  room  to  name,  much  less  de- 
scribe, the  many  growing  towns  and  villages 
in  this  State,  that  excite  and  deserve  the 
attention  of  emigrants.  On  the  Illinois  river, 
are  Ottawa,  and  several  eligible  sites  in 
its  vicinity,  where  towns  have  commenced; 
Beardstown,  a  short  distance  below  the  mouth 
of  Sangamon  river;  Peoria,  at  the  foot  of 
Peoria  lake  (a  most  beautiful  site,  and  con- 
taining 1 ,000  inhabitants) ;  Meredosia,  Naples, 
Pekin,  Hennepin,  &.c.  On  the  Mississippi, 


ILLINOIS.  311 

are  Quincy,  Warsaw,  New  Boston,  and  Ste- 
phenson,  the  sea.t  of  justice  for  Rock  Island 
county.  Interior,  are  Bloomington,  Decatur, 
Tremont,  Shelbyville,  Hillsboro',  Edwards- 
ville,  Carlyle,  Belleville,  Carrollton,  and 
many  others.  Towards  the  Wabash,  are 
Danville,  Paris,  Lawrenceville,  Carrni,  and 
Mount  Carmel;  the  last  of  which  has  an 
importance,  from  being  connected  with  the 
grand  rapids  of  the  Wabash.  Shawneetown 
is  the  commercial  depot  for  the  south-eastern 
part  of  the  State.  On  the  military  tract,  are 
Rushville,  Pittsfield,  Griggsville,  Carthage, 
Macomb,  Monmouth,  Knoxville,  Lewistown, 
Canton,  &c. ;  all  pleasant  sites,  and  having  a 
population  from  two  or  three  hundred  to  one 
thousand  inhabitants. 

For  a  more   particular   description  of  each 
county,   town   and   settlement,  with   all  other 
particulars   of  Illinois,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  "A   GAZETTEER   OF   ILLINOIS,"  by  the  au 
thor  of  this  GUIDE. 

Projected  Improvements.  The  project  of 
uniting  the  waters  of  lake  Michigan  and  tht 
Illinois,  by  a  canal,  was  conceived  soon  after 
the  commencement  of  the  Grand  canal  of 
New  York;  and  a  board  of  commissioners, 
with  engineers,  explored  the  route  and  esti- 
mated the  cost,  in  1823.  Provision,  by  a 
grant  of  each  alternate  section  of  land  within 
five  miles  of  the  route,  having  been  granted 
by  Congress,  another  board  of  commissioners 
was  appointed  in  1829;  a  new  survey  was 


312  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

made,  and  the  towns  of  Chicago  and  Ottawa 
laid  off,  and  some  lots  sold  in  1830.  Various 
movements  have  since  been  made,  but  noth- 
ing effectually  done,  until  the  recent  special 
session  of  the  legislature,  when  an  act  was 
passed,  to  authorize  the  governor  to  borrow 
funds  upon  the  faith  of  the  State;  a  new 
board  of  commissioners  has  been  organized, 
and  this  great  work  is  about  to  be  prosecuted 
with  vigor  to  its  completion. 

Funds,  in  part,  have  been  provided,  from 
the  sales  of  certain  saline  lands  belonging  to 
the  State,  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the 
Great  Wabash,  at  the  Grand  Rapids,  near 
the  mouth  of  White  river,  in  conjunction 
with  the  State  of  Indiana.  From  the  same 
source,  funds  are  to  be  applied  to  the  clearing 
out  of  several  navigable  water-courses,  and 
repairing  roads  within  the  State. 

Charters  have  been  granted  to  several  rail- 
road companies,  some  of  which  have  been 
surveyed,  and  the  stock  taken.  One  from 
Alton  to  Springfield  was  surveyed  last  year, 
and  the  stock  subscribed  in  December.  An- 
other from  St.  Louis,  by  the  coal  mines  of  St. 
Clair  county,  to  Belleville,  thirteen  miles,  is 
expected  to  be  made  immediately.  The  pro- 
ject of  a  central  rail-way  from  the  termination 
of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  at  the  foot 
of  the  rapids,  a  few  miles  below  Ottawa, 
through  Bloomington,  Decatur,  Shelbyville, 
Vandalia,  and  on  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio 
river,  has  been  entered  upon  with  spirit. 


ILLINOIS.  313 

Another  charter  contemplates  the  continu- 
ance of  a  route,  already  provided  for  in  Indi- 
ana, and  noticed  under  Ohio,  from  Lafa- 
yette, la.,  by  Danville,  Shelbyville,  and  Hills- 
boro',  to  Alton,  the  nearest  point  from  the 
east  to  the  Mississippi.  A  rail-road  charter 
was  granted,  at  a  previous  session  of  the 
legislature,  from  MeredOsia  to  Jacksonville, 
and  another  from  Vincennes  to  Chicago. 

We  have  only  room  to  mention  the  follow- 
ing charters,  which  have  recently  been  grant- 
ed, in  addition  to  those  already  specified: 

One  from  Pekin  to  Tremont,  in  Tazewell 
county,  nine  miles. 

One  from  the  Wabash,  by  Peoria,  to  War 
saw,  in  Hancock  county. 

The  Wabash  and  Mississippi  rail-road  com- 
pany. 

The  Mount  Carmel  and  Alton  rail-road 
company. 

The  Rushville  rail-road  company. 

The  Winchester,  Lynville,  and  Jackson- 
ville rail-road  company. 

The  Shawneetown  and  Alton  rail-road  com- 
pany. 

The  Pekin,  Bloomington,  and  Wabash  rail- 
road company. 

The  Waverjy  and  Grand  Prairie  rail-road 
company. 

The  Galena  and  Chicago  union  rail-road 
company. 

The  Wabash  and  Mississippi  union  rail- 
road company.. 


314  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

The  Mississippi,  Carrollton,  and  Springfield 
rail-road  company. 

The  national  road  is  in  progress  through 
this  State,  and  considerable  has  been  made 
on  that  portion  which  lies  between  Vandalia 
and  the  boundary  of  Indiana.  This  road  en- 
ters Illinois  at  the  north-east  corner  of  Clark 

CCTi^arid  paSSGS  diag°nallJ  through  Coles 
and  i^mngham  counties,  in  a  south-westerly 
course,  to  Vandalia,  a  distance  of  ninety 
miles.  The  road  is  established  eighty  feet 
wide,  the  central  part  thirty  feet  wide,  raised 
above  standing  water,  and  not  to  exceed 
three  degrees  from  a  level.  The  base  of  all 
the  abutments  of  bridfes  must  be  equal  in 
thickness  to  one  third  of  the  height  of  the 
abutment.  i  i^f 

The  road  is  not  yet  placed  in  a  traveling 
condition.  The  line  of  the  road  is  nearly 
direct;  the  loss,  in  ninety  miles,  being  only 
the  eighty-eighth  part  of  one  per  cent  Be- 
tween Vandalia  and  Ewington,  for  twenty- 
three  miles,  it  does  not  deviate  in  the  least 
from  a  direct  line. 

From  Vandalia,  westward,  the  road  is  not 
jet  located;  but  it  will  probably  pass  to  Alton. 
Education.  The  same  provision  has  been 
made  for  this  as  other  Westei*  States,  in  the 
disposal  of  the  public  lands.  The  section 
numbered  sixteen,  in  each  township  of  land, 
is  sold  upon  petition  of  the  people  within  the 
township,  and  the  avails  constitute  a  perma- 
nent fund,  the  interest  of  which  is  annually 


ILLINOIS. 


315 


applied  towards  the  expenses,  in  part,  of  the 
education  of  those  who  attend  school,  living 
within  the  township. 

A  school  system,  in  part,  has  been  arrang- 
ed by  the  legislature.     The  peculiar  and  un- 
equal division  of  the  country  into  timber  and 
prairie  lands,  and  the  inequality  of  settlements 
consequent  thereupon,  will  prevent,  for  many 
years   to    come,   the    organization    of  school 
districts  with  defined  geographical  boundaries. 
To  meet  this   inconvenience,  the   legislature 
has  provided,  that  any  number  of  persons  can 
elect  three  trustees,  employ  a  teacher  in  any 
mode  they  choose,  and  receive  their  propor- 
tion of  the  avails  of  the  school  funds.     In  all 
cases,  however,  the  teacher  must  keep  a  daily 
account  of  each  scholar  who  attends  school,  and, 
make  out  a  schedule  of  the  aggregate  that  each 
scholar  attends,  every  six  months,  and    present 
it    certified   by  the  trustees  of  the   school,  to 
the  school  commissioner  of  the   county,  who 
apportions  the  money  accordingly. 

This  State  receives  three  per  cent,  on  all 
the  net  avails  of  public  lands  sold  in  this 
State,  which,  with  the  avails  of  two  townships 
sold  makes  a  respectable  and  rapidly  in- 
creasing fund,  the  interest  only  of  which  can 
be  expended,  and  that  only  to  the  payment  . 
instructers. 

Good  common  school  teachers,  both  male 
and  female,  are  greatly  needed,  and  will  meet 
with  ready  employ  and  liberal  wages.  Here 
is  a  most  delightful  and  inviting  field  tor 


316  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Christian  activity.  Common  school,  with 
Sunday  school  instruction,  calls  for  thousands 
of  teachers  in  the  West. 

Several  respectable  academies  are  in  oper- 
ation, and  the  wants  and  feelings  of  the  com- 
munity call  for  many  more.  Besides  the  col- 
leges at  Jacksonville  and  Alton,  already  no- 
ticed, others  are  projected,  and  several  have 
been  chartered.  The  Methodist  denomina- 
tion have  a  building  erected,  and  a  prepara- 
tory school  commenced,  at  Lebanon,  St.  Clair 
county.  The  Episcopalians  are  about  estab- 
lishing a  college  at  Springfield.  One  or  more 
will  be  demanded  in  the  northern  and  eastern 
portions  of  the  State;  and  it  may  be  calculat- 
ed, that,  in  a  very  brief  period,  the  State  of 
Illinois  will  furnish  facilities  for  a  useful  and 
general  education,  equal  to  those  in  any  part 
of  the  country. 

Government.  The  constitution  of  Illinois 
was  formed  by  a  convention,  held  at  Kaskas- 
kia,  in  August,  1818.  It  provides  for  the 
distribution  of  the  powers  of  government  into 
three  distinct  departments, — the  legislative, 
executive,  and  judiciary.  The  legislative 
authority  is  vested  in  a  general  assembly, 
consisting  of  a  senate  and  house  of  represen- 
tatives. Elections  are  held  biennially,  as  are 
the  ordinary  sessions  of  the  legislature.  Sen- 
ators are  elected  for  four  years. 

The  executive  power  is  vested  in  the  gov- 
ernor, who  is  chosen  every  fourth  year,  by 
the  electors  for  representatives;  but  the  same 


ILLINOIS,  317 

person  is  ineligible  for  the  next  succeeding 
four  years.  The  lieutenant  governor  is  also 
chosen  every  four  years. 

The  judicial  power  is  vested  in  a  supreme 
court,  and  such  inferior  courts  as  the  general 
assembly,  from  time  to  time,  shall  establish. 
The  supreme  court  consists  of  a  chief  justice 
and  three  associate  judges. 

The  governor  and  judges  of  the  supreme 
court  constitute  a  council  of  revision,  to 
which  all  bills,  that  have  passed  the  assembly, 
must  be  submitted.  If  objected  to  by  the 
council  of  revision,  the  same  may  become  a 
law,  by  the  vote  of  a  majority  of  all  the  mem- 
bers elected  to  both  houses. 

The  right  of  suffrage  is  universal.  All 
white  male  inhabitants,  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  arid  who 
have  resided  within  the  State  six  months  next 
preceding  the  elections,  enjoy  the  right  of 
voting.  Votes  are  given  viva  voce.  The  in- 
troduction of  slavery  is  prohibited.  The  con- 
stitution can  only  be  altered  by  a  convention. 

General  Remarks.  1.  Farms,  somewhat 
improved,  are  almost  daily  exchanging  own- 
ers, and  a  considerable  spirit  of  enterprise 
has  been  awakened  within  a  year  or  two  past. 
The  prices  of  farms  and  improvements  vary 
greatly,  and  are  influenced  much  by  factitious 
and  local  circumstances.  From  St.  Clair 
county,  northward,  they  average,  probably, 
from  five  to  ten  dollars  per  acre,  and  are 
rising  in  value.  In  some  counties,  farms  will 


318 


cost  from  two  to  five  dollars  per  acre.  A  farm 
in  Illinois,  however,  means  a  tract  of  land, 
much  of  it  in  a  state  of  nature,  with  some 
cheap,  and,  frequently,  log-buildings;  with 
twenty,  forty,  sixty,  eighty  or  one  hundred 
acres,  fenced  and  cultivated.  Good  dwellings 
of  brick,  stone  or  wood,  begin  to  be  erected. 
Among  the  old  residents,  there  have  been  but 
few  barns  built. 

The  want  of  adequate  supplies  of  lumber, 
and  of  mechanics,  renders  good  buildings 
more  expensive  than  in  the  new  counties  of 
New  England  or  New  York. 

2.  .Merchants'  goods,  groceries,  household 
furniture    and    almost    every    necessary    and 
comfort  in  house-keeping,  can  be  purchased 
here;    and   many  articles  retail  at   about  the 
same  prices  as  in  the  Atlantic  States. 

3.  The  following  table  will  exhibit  the  cost 
of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  at 
Congress  price,   and  preparing  one   hundred 
and  sixty  acres  for  cultivation  or  prairie  land: 

Cost  of  320  acres,  at  $1  25  per  acre, $400 

Breaking  up  160  acres  prairie,  at  $  2  per  acre, .      320 
Fencing  it  into  four  fields,  with  a  Kentucky  fence 

of  eight  rails  high,  with  cross  stakes, 175 

Cabins,  corn-cribs,  stable,  &c., 250 

Making  the  cost  of  the  farm,  $1145 

In  many  instances,  a  single  crop  of  wheat 
will  pay  for  the  land,  for  fencing,  breaking 
up,  cultivating,  harvesting,  threshing,  and 
taking  to  market. 

4.  All  kinds  of  mechanical  labor,  especially 


ILLINOIS.  319 

in  the  building  line,  are  in  great  demand; 
even  very  coarse  and  common  workmen  get 
almost  any  price  they  ask.  Journeymen 
mechanics  get  $2  per  day.  A  carpenter  or 
brick  mason  wants  no  other  capital,  to  do 
first-rate  business,  and  soon  become  indepen- 
dent, than  a  set  of  tools,  and  habits  of  indus- 
try, sobriety,  economy  and  enterprise. 

5.  Common  laborers  on  a  farm  obtain  from 
$12  to  $15  per  month,  including  board.    Any 
young  man,  with  industrious  habits,  can  begin 
here  without  a  dollar,  and  in  a  very  few  years 
become  a  substantial  farmer.     A  good  cradler 
in  the  harvest-field,  will  earn  from  $1  50  to 
$2  per  day. 

6.  Much  that  we  have  stated  in  reference 
to  Illinois,  will  equally  apply  to  Missouri,  or 
any    other   Western    State.      Many    general 
principles  have  been  laid  down,  and   particu- 
lar facts  exhibited,  with  respect  to  the  general 
description  of  the  State,  soil,  timber,  kinds  of 
land,  and  other  characteristics,  under  Illinois, 
and,  to  save  repetition,  are  omitted  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


MISSOURI. 

Extent  and  Boundaries — Civil  Divisions — Population  at 
different  Periods — Surface,  Soil  and  Productions — 
Towns. 


LENGTH,  two  hundred  and  seventy-eight; 
medium  breadth,  two  hundred  and  thirty-five 
miles:  containing  64,500  square  miles,  and 
•41,280,000  acres. 

Bounded  north  by  the  Des  Moines  country, 
or  New  Purchase,  attached  to  Wisconsin 
Territory,  west  by  Indian  Territory,  south 
by  Arkansas,  and  east  by  the  Mississippi 
river; — Between  36°  and  40°  37'  north  lati- 
tude, and  between  11°  15'  and  17°  30'  west 
longitude. 

Civil  Divisions.  It  is  divided  into  fifty 
counties,  as  follows: — Barry,  Benton,  Boone, 
Callaway,  Cape  Girardeau,  Carroll,  Chari- 
ton,  Clay,  Clinton,  Cole,  Cooper,  Crawford, 
Franklin,  Gasconade,  Green,  Howard,  Jack- 
son, Jefferson,  Johnson,  Lafayette,  Lewis, 
Lincoln,  Madison,  Marion,  Monroe,  Mont- 


MISSOURI.  321 

gomery,  Morgan,  New  Madrid,  Perry,  Pettis, 
Pike,  Polk,  Pulaski,  Randolph,  Rails,  Ray, 
Ripley,  Rives,  St.  Francis,  Ste.  Genevieve, 
St.  Charles,  St.  Louis,  Saline,  Scott,  Shelby, 
Stoddart,  Van  Buren,  Warren,  Washington 
and  Wayne. 

Population  at  Different  Periods. 


In  Population. 

1810    (excluding 

Arkansas),  ..  .    19,833 

1820, 66,586 

1824, 80,000 

1830, 140,455 

1832,.  . 176,276 

1836,  estimated,. 210,000! 


Prom  Increise. 

1810  to  1820,  .  .   46,753 

1820  "   1824,  .  .    14,500 

1824  ««  1830,  .  .   60,455 

1830  "  1832,  .  .   35,820 

1832  "   1836,  .  .   33,724 


The  constitution  is  similar  to  that  of  Illinois, 
in  its  broad  features,  excepting  the  holding 
of  slaves  is  allowed,  and  the  General  Assembly 
has  no  power  to  pass  laws  for  the  emancipa- 
tion of  slaves,  without  the  consent  of  their 
owners,  or  paying  an  equivalent.  It  is  made 
the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly  "  to  oblige 
the  owners  of  slaves  to  treat  them  with  hu- 
manity, and  to  abstain  from  ail  injuries  to 
them  extending  to  life  or  limb."  "  Slaves 
shall  not  be  deprived  of  an  impartial  trial  by 
jury."  In  1832,  there  were  in  the  State, 
32,184  slaves,  and  661  free  colored  persons. 
Every  free  white  male  citizen  has  the  right,  of 
suffrage,  after  a  residence  in  the  State  of  one 
year. 

Surface,  Soil  and  Productions.  The  surface 
of  this  State  is  greatly  diversified.  South  of 
14* 


322  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Cape  Girardeau,  with  the  exception  of  some 
bluffs  along  the  Mississippi,  it  is  entirely  allu- 
vial, and  a  large  proportion  consists  of  swamp 
and  inundated  lands,  the  most  of  which  are 
heavily  timbered.  From  thence  to  the  Mis- 
souri river,  and  westward  to  the  dividing 
grounds  between  the  waters  of  the  Osage  and 
Gasconade  rivers,  the  country  is  generally 
timbered,  rolling,  and  in  some  parts,  quite 
hilly.  No  part  of  Missouri,  however,  is  strict- 
ly mountainous.  Along  the  waters  of  Gascon- 
ade and  Black  rivers  the  hills  are  frequently 
abrupt  and  rocky,  with  strips  of  rich  alluvion 
along  the  water-courses.  Much  of  this  region 
abounds  with  minerals  of  various  descriptions. 
Lead,  iron,  coal,  gypsum,  manganese,  zinc, 
antimony,  cobalt,  ochre  of  various  kinds, 
common  salt,  nitre,  plumbago,  porphyry,  jas- 
per, chalcydony,  buhrstone,  marble  and  free- 
stone, of  various  qualities.  The  lead  and  iron 
cere  are  literally  exhaustless,  and  of  the  rich- 
est quality.  To  say  there  is  probably  iron  ore 
enough  in  this  region  to  supply  the  United 
States  with  iron  for  one  hundred  thousand 
years  to  come,  would  not  be  extravagant. 
Here,  too,  is  water  power  in  abundance, 
rapid  streams,  with  pebbly  beds,  forests  of 
timber  and  exhaustless  beds  of  bituminous 
coal.  The  only  difficulty  of  working  this  vast 
body  of  minerals  is  the  inconvenience  of  get- 
ting its  proceeds  to  the  Mississippi.  The 
streams  that  rise  in  this  region,  run  different 
courses  into  the  Missouri,  the  Mississippi  and 


MISSOURI. 

the  Arkansas,  but  they  are  too  rapid  and 
winding  in  their  courses  to  afford  safe  and 
easy  navigation. 

Were  the  rafts  now  lodged  in  the  St.  Fran- 
cois removed  by  the  agency  of  government,  as 
they  have  been  in  Red  river,  the  lower  section 
of  the  mineral  country  could  be  reached  by 
steam-boat  navigation.  The  citizens  of  St. 
Louis,  very  recently,  have  entered  upon  the 
project  of  a  railway  from  that  city,  through 
the  heart  of  this  country,  to  the  fine,  farming 
lands,  in  the  south-western  part  of  the  State, 
Such  a  project,  carried  into  effect,  would  open 
a  boundless  field  of  wealth  in  Missouri. 

The  western  part  of  the  State  is  divided  in- 
to prairie  and  forest  land,  much  of  which  is 
fertile.  Along  the  Osage,  it  is  hilly,  and 
the  whole  is  undulating,  arid  regarded  as  a 
healthy  region,  abounding  with  good  water, 
salt  springs  and  limestone.  North  of  the  Mis- 
souri the  face  of  the  country  is  diversifiedj 
with  a  mixture  of  timber  and  prairie.  From 
the  Missouri  to  Salt  river,  good  springs  are 
scarce,  and  in  several  counties  it  is  difficult 
to  obtain  permanent  water  by  digging  wells. 
Artificial  wells,  as  they  may  be  called,  are 
made  by  digging  a  well  forty  or  fifty  feet  deep, 
and  replenishing  it  with  a  current  of  rain  wa- 
ter from  the  roof  of  the  dwelling-house.  Much 
of  the  prairie  land  in  this  part  of  the  State  is 
inferior  to  the  first  quality  of  prairie  land 
in  Illinois,  as  the  soil  is  more  clayey,  arid 
does  not  so  readily  absorb  the  water.  Be- 


324  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

tween  Sa]t  river  and  Des  Moines,  are  beauti- 
ful, rich  lands.  The  counties  of  Rails,  Ma- 
rion, Monroe,  Lewis  and  Shelby  are  first  rate. 
•The  counties  of  Warren,  Montgomery,  Calla- 
way,  Boone,  Howard  and  Chariton,  all  lying 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Missouri  river,  are 
rolling;  in  some  places  are  bluffs  and  hills, 
with  considerable  good  prairie,  and  an  abun- 
dance of  timbered  land.  Further  west,  the 
proportion  of  prairie  increases  to  the  boundary 
line,  as  it  does  to  the  northward  of  Boone, 
Howard  and  Chariton  counties.  After  making 
ample  deductions  for  inferior  soil,  ranges  of 
barren  hills,  and  large  tracts  of  swamp,  as  in 
the  south,  the  State  of  Missouri  contains  a  vast 
proportion  of  excellent  farming  land.  The 
.people,  generally,  are  enterprising,  hardy  and 
industrious;  and  most  of  those  who  hold  slaves, 
perform  labor  with  them.  Emigrants  from 
every  State  and  several  countries  of  Europe, 
are  found  here,  but  the  basis  of  the  population 
is  from  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Virginia. 
The  natural  productions  of  Missouri  are  simi- 
lar to  those  States  already  described,  and  the 
agricultural  productions  are  the  same  as  Illi- 
nois, except  that  more  tobacco  is  produced  in 
the  middle,  and  considerable  quantities  of  cot- 
ton in  the  southern  counties. 

Towns.  The  city  of  Jefferson  is  the  politi- 
cal capital  of  the  State.  It  is  situated  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Missouri,  a  few  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Osage,  and  about  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-eight  miles  from  St.  Louis.  It 


MISSOURI.  325 

is  a  small  town,  with  little  business,  except 
what  pertains  to  the  government  of  the  State. 
A  state  house,  governor's  house  and  peniten- 
tiary have  been  erected. 

ST.  Louis  is  the  commercial  capital,  and 
the  most  important  place  in  all  this  portion  of 
the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  It  stands  on 
the  western  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  miles  above  the  junction  of 
the  Ohio,  eighteen  miles  below  that  of  the 
Missouri,  and  thirty-eight  miles  below  that  of 
the  Illinois.  It  is  beautifully  situated  on  as- 
cending and  elevated  ground,  which  spreads 
out  into  an  undulating  surface  to  the  west  for 
many  miles.  Two  streets  are  parallel  with 
the  river  on  the  first  bank,  and  the  rest  of  the 
city  stands  on  the  second  bank;  but  very  little 
grading  is  necessary,  to  give  the  streets  run- 
ning back  from  the  river  their  proper  inclina- 
tion. The  old  streets,  designed  only  for  a 
French  village,  are  too  narrow  for  public  con- 
venience, but  a  large  part  of  the  city  has  been 
laid  out  on  a  liberal  scale.  The  Indian  and 
Spanish  trade,  the  fur  and  peltry  business, 
lead,  government  agencies,  army  supplies, 
surveys  of  government  lands,  with  the  regular 
trade  of  an  extensive  interior  country,  makes 
St.  Louis  a  place  of  great  business,  in  propor- 
tion to  its  population,  which  is  about  10,000. 

The  following,  from  the  register  of  the 
wharf-master,  will  exhibit  the  commerce  for 
1835:— 


PECK'S  GUIDE. 


Steam-boat  Register. 

Number  of  different  boats  arrived, 121 

Aggregate  of  tonnage, 15,470 

Number  of  arrivals, 803 

Wharfage  collected, $4,573  60 

Wood  and  Lumber,  liable  to  wharfage. 

Plank,  joist  and  scantling, 1,414,330  feet. 

Shingles, 148,000    " 

Cedar  posts, 7,706    " 

Fire-wood, 8,066  cords. 

The  proportionate  increase  of  business  will 
be  seen  by  reference  to  the  following  registry 
for  1831:  — 

Different  steam-boats  arrived, 60 

Average  amount  of  tonnage, 7,769 

Number  of  entries, 532 

The  morality,  intelligence  and  enterprise  of 
this  city  is  equal  to  any  other  in  the  West,  in 
proportion  to  its  size.  The  American  popu- 
lation is  most  numerous,  but  there  are  many 
French,  Irish  and  Germans.  About  one  third 
of  the  inhabitants  are  Roman  Catholics.  The 
Presbyterians,  Methodists  and  Episcopalians 
have  large  congregations  and  houses  of  wor- 
ship: the  Baptists  and  Unitarians  are  rather 
small,  and  without  public  edifices.  The  Ro- 
man Catholic  cathedral  is  a  costly  building, 
of  freestone,  and  has  a  splendid  chime  of 
bells,  sent  over  from  Europe.  St.  Louis  is  a 
pleasant  and  healthy  situation,  and  surround- 
ed by  a  fertile  country. 

We  have  not  space  to  give  particulars  re- 
specting many  interesting  and  flourishing 
towns  in  Missouri. 


MISSOURI.  327 

Cape  Girardeau  is  a  commercial  depot  for 
the  southern  part  of  the  State.  Ste.  Gene- 
vieve  stands  a  little  back  from  the  river,  and 
is  known  only  as  an  old  French  village. 

Selma  is  a  landing  and  depot  for  the  lead 
mine  country,  thirty-eight  miles  below  St 
Louis.  Clarksville,  Louisiana,  Marion  city, 
Hannibal,  Saverton  and  La  Grange  are  com- 
mercial sites  on  the  Mississippi,  above  the 
mouth  of  Missouri.  Palmyra  is  a  beautiful 
town,  of  about  one  thousand  inhabitants,  and 
the  seat  of  justice  for  Marion  county.  Along 
the  Missouri,  are  Portland,  Rocheport,  Boon- 
ville,  Lexington,  Independence,  and  many 
other  places  of  various  degrees  of  importance. 
Franklin  formerly  stood  on  the  north  bank  of 
Missouri,  but  most  of  it  has  been  removed, 
three  miles  interior,  to  the  bluffs.  Potosi  is  a 
central  town  in  the  mineral  district.  Fulton, 
Columbia  and  Fayette  are  the  seats  of  justice 
for  Callaway,  Boone  and  Howard  counties, 
and  are  pleasant  and  flourishing  towns. 

About  the  same  provision  for  education  has 
been  made  in  this  as  in  other  Western  States, 
and  a  disposition  to  encourage  schools,  acad- 
emies and  colleges  is  fast  increasing. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


ARKANSAS. 

Situation  and  Extent — Civil   Divisions — River? — Face  of 

the  Country Soil — Water Productions — Climate — 

Minerals — State  of  Society. 

ARKANSAS,  which  has  recently  formed  a  con- 
stitution, and  has  been  received  into  the  na- 
tional Union,  lies  between  33°  and  36°  30' 
north  latitude,  and  between  13°  30'  and  17° 
45'  west  longitude.  Length,  two  hundred  and 
thirty-five;  medium  breadth,  two  hundred  and 
twenty-two  miles;  containing  about  50,000 
square  miles,  or  32, 000, 000  acres. 

Civil  Divisions.  The  following  are  the 
counties,  with  the  population,  from  the  census 
taken  in  1835: — 

Counties.       Popu1a.|Counties.  Popula. .Counties.          Popula. 

Arkansas,.  2,080  Independence,  2, 633| Phillips,  .  .  .  1,518 

Carroll,  .  .  1,357  Izard, l,S79|Pike, 449 

Chicot,.  .  .  2,471;Jackson,.  .  .  .     891  (Pope,  ....  1,318 
Conway,  .  1,2 J 4  Jefferson,.  .  .  ,l,474lPulaski,  ...  3,513 

Clark,  .  .  .  1,285  Johnson, 1,803  Scott,  ....      100 

Crawford,.  3,139  Lafayette,  .  .  .1,446  Sevier,  ....  1,350 
Crittenden,  1,407  Lawrence,  .  .  .3,844  St.  Francis,.  1,896 

Greene, ...    971  Miller, 1,373  Union,.  ...      878 

Hempstead.2,955  Mississippi,  ..     600  Van  Buren, .     855 
Hot-Spring,6,117Monroe,  ....     556  Washington,  6,742 

Total,  58,212 


ARKANSAS.  329 

Another  table  we  have  seen,  makes  out  the 
population,  HS  officially  reported  (with  the  ex- 
ception of  two  counties,  from  which  returns 
had  not  been  made),  to  be  51,809; — white 
males,  22,585;  white  females,  19,386; — total 
whites,  41,971:  slaves,  9,629; — free  persons 
of  color,  209.  The  population,  in  1830, 
30,388;— in  1833,  40,660. 

The  following  graphic  description  of  Arkan- 
sas, is  taken  from  a  letter  from  Rev.  Harvey 
Woods,  in  that  State,  to  the  editor  of  the 
Cincinnati  Journal,  and  is  corroborated  by 
testimony  in  our  possession,  from  various, 
correspondents.  It  was  written  in  1835. 

"Arkansas  Territory  is  a  part  of  that  vast 
country  ceded  to  the  United  States,  by  France, 
in  1803.  From  the  time  of  the  purchase,  till 
lately,  the  tide  of  emigration  hardly  reached 
thus  far.  In  1800,  the  population  was  1052. 
Arkansas  was  erected  into  a  Territory,  in 
1819.  At  this  time  it  is  receiving  a  share  of 
those  who  retire  beyond  the  Mississippi. 

"  Rivers.  The  Territory  is  admirably  in- 
tersected with  navigable  rivers;  the  Missis- 
sippi on  the  east,  the  great  Red  river  on  the 
south.  Between  these,  and  running  general- 
ly from  north-west  to  south-east,  are  the  St. 
Francois,  White,  Arkansas  and  Washitau 
rivers,  all  fine  streams  for  steam-boat  navi- 
gation. 

"  Face  of  the  Country.     It  is  various.     No 
country  affords  more  diversified  scenery.    The 
country  in  the  east,  for  one  hundred  miles,  is 
15 


330 

flat,  with  marshes  and  swamps;  in  the  middle, 
broken  and  hilly;  and  in  the  west,  hilly  and 
mountainous.  There  are  some  prairies,  some 
thickly  timbered  land,  some  heavy  timbered. 
The  country  is  generally  a  timbered  country. 
Some  parts  are  sandy,  some  rocky,  and  some 
flinty. 

"  Soil,  ^hould  a  man  travel  here,  and  ex- 
pect to  find  all  good  land,  he  would  be  sadly 
disappointed.  The  best  lands  are  generally 
contiguous  to  the  rivers  and  creeks;  and 
these  are  exceedingly  fertile,  not  surpassed 
by  any  soil  in  the  United  States.  Arkansas 
soil,  that  is  rich,  has  just  sand  enough  to 
make  it  lively  and  elastic.  Our  best  lands 
are  covered  with  walnut,  hackberry,  mulber- 
ry, oak,  ash,  grape  vines,  &c. 

"  Water.  The  hilly  and  mountainous  parts 
are  well  supplied  with  springs,  limestone  and 
freestone.  Also  good  streams  for  mills.  In 
the  flat  country,  good  water  is  easily  obtained 
by  digging. 

"Productions.  Cotton  and  corn  are  the  prin- 
cipal. The  Arkansas  cottons  commanded  the 
best  price  last  season,  in  the  Liverpool  mar- 
ket. It  is  a  country  of  unequalled  advantages 
for  raising  horses,  mules,  cattle  and  hogs. 

"  Climate.  It  is  mild,  and,  from  its  differ- 
ence in  latitude,  say  from  32°  40'  to  36°  30' 
N.,  and  the  difference  in  local  situation,  we 
would  guess,  and  correctly  too,  that  there  is 
much  difference  in  the  health  of  different 
places;  the  high  and  northern  parts  healthy, 


ARKANSAS.  331 

and  the  flat  and  southern  subject  to  agues 
and  bilious  fevers.  The  climate  has  been 
considered  unhealthy  to  new  settlers;  but  it 
is  not  more  so  than  other  new  countries. 

"Minerals.  There  are  quantities  of  iron, 
lead,  coal,  salt,  and,  it  is  asserted  by  some, 
silver.  There  are  many  salt  and  sulphur 
springs.  On  the  Arkansas  river,  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  Territory  proper,  is  a  section  of 
country  called  the  salt  prairie,  which,  accord- 
ing to  good  authority,  is  covered,  for  many 
miles,  from  four  to  six  inches  deep,  with  pure 
white  salt.  In  the  Hot  Spring  country,  are 
the  famous  hot  springs,  much  resorted  to  by 
persons  of  chronic  and  paralytic  diseases. 
The  temperature,  in  dry,  hot  weather,  is  at 
boiling  point. 

"  State  of  Society.  The  general  character  of 
the  people  is  brave,  hardy  and  enterprising, 
— frequently  without  the  polish  of  literature, 
yet  kind  and  hospitable.  The  people  are  now 
rapidly  improving  in  morals  and  intellect. 
They  are  as  ready  to  encourage  schools,  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  the  benevolent 
enterprises  of  the  age,  as  any  people  in  new 
countries.  The  consequences  of  living  here 
a  long  time,  without  the  opportunity  of  edu- 
cating their  children,  and  destitute  of  the 
means  of  grace,  are,  among  this  population, 
just  what  they  always  will  be  under  similar 
circumstances.  Ministers  of  all  denomina- 
tions are  'few  and  far  between.'  We  have 
no  need  here  to  build  on  others'  foundation. 


332  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

"  I  am  living  in  Jackson  county,  on  White 
river.  This  county  has  a  larger  quantity  of 
good  land  than  any  one  in  the  Territory. 
\Vhite  river  is  always  navigable  for  steam- 
boats to  this  place,  three  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  its  mouth.  Well  water  is  good, — 
some  fine  springs.  Washington  county,  and 
some  others,  that  have  the  reputation  of  bet- 
ter health,  are  more  populous. 

"  We  want  settlers;  and  we  have  no  doubt, 
that  vast  numbers  of  families  in  the  States, 
particularly  the  poor,  and  those  in  moderate 
circumstances,  would  better  their  situation  by 
coming  here,  where  they  can  get  plenty  of 
fertile  and  fresh  land  at  government  price, — 
$1,25  per  acre.  They  can  have  good  range, 
and  all  the  advantages  of  new  countries. 
Emigrants,  however,  ought  not  to  suffer 
themselves  to  expect  all  sunshine,  and  no 
winter.  We  have  cloudy  days  and  cold 
weather,  even  in  Arkansas!  If  they  have 
heard  of  the  honey  pond,  where  flitters  grow 
on  trees,  they  need  not  be  surprised,  if  they 
don't  find  it.  Cabins  cannot  be  built,  wells 
dug,  farms  opened,  rails  made,  and  meeting- 
bouses  and  school-houses  erected,  without 
work. 

"  It  may  be  asked,  'If  Arkansas  be  so  fine  a 
country,  why  has  it  not  been  settled  faster?' 
There  are,  perhaps,  three  reasons: — a  fear  of 
the  Indians,  a  fear  of  sickness,  a  fear  of  bad 
roads.  The  Indians  are  now  all  peaceably 
situated  beyond  the  Territory  proper,  and  are 


ARKANSAS.  333 

blessed  with  the  labors  of  a  number  of  good 
pious  missionaries,  who  are  teaching  them  to 
read  the  Bible,  and  showing  the  tall  sons  of 
the  forest  the  way  that  leads  to  heaven. 
Sickness  is  no  more  to  be  dreaded  here,  than 
in  Illinois  and  Missouri.  The  roads  have 
indeed  been  bad.  For  a  long  time,  no  one 
could  venture  through  the  Mississippi  swamps, 
unless  he  was  a  Daniel  Boone.  But  appro- 
priations have  been  made,  by  Congress,  for 
several  roads.  This  summer  (1835),  roads 
from  Memphis  to  Little  Rock,  and  to  Litch- 
field  and  Batesville,  and  other  points,  will  be 
completed.  An  appropriation  of  upwards  of 
$100,000  has  been  made,  to  construct  a  road 
through  the  Mississippi  swamp. 

"  Again:  we  want  settlers, — we  want  physi- 
cians, lawyers,  ministers,  mechanics  and 
farmers.  We  want  such,  however,  and  only 
such,  as  will  make  good  neighbors.  If  any, 
who  think  of  coming  to  live  with  us,  are  gam- 
blers, drunkards*,  Sabbath-breakers,  profane 
swearers,  or  the  like,  we  hope  that,  when 
they  leave  their  old  country,  they  will  leave 
their  old  habits." 

The  constitution  of  this  State,  in  its  essen- 
tial features,  is  similar  to  Missouri,  and  other 
south-western  States. 


CHAPTER    XV. 


WISCONSIN  TERRITORY. 

Boundaries     and     Extent — Rivers — Soil — Productions — 
Towns,  &c. 

UNDER  this  name,  is  now  comprehended  an 
extensive  district  of  country,  lying  on  both 
sides  of  the  Mississippi  river,  above  Illinois 
and  Missouri,  and  extending  indefinitely  north. 
That  portion  lying  betwixt,  the  northern  boun- 
dary of  Illinois  and  the  Wisconsin  river,  and 
from  lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi,  has 
the  Indian  title  extinguished,  and,  in  part, 
has  been  surveyed  and  brought  into  market. 
There  is  much  excellent  land  in  this  part  of 
the  Territory,  and  it  is  well  watered  with 
perennial  streams  and  springs.  Offices  are 
opened,  for  the  sale  of  public  lands,  at  Min- 
eral Point  and  Green  Bay,  and  a  large  amount 
has  been  sold,  and  some  at  a  high  price. 
The  country  immediately  bordering  on  lake 
Michigan,  is  well  timbered,  with  various  trees. 
Here  are  red,  white,  black  and  burr  oaks, 
beech,  ash,  linden,  poplar,  walnut,  hickory, 


WISCONSIN    TERRITORY.  335 

sugar  and  white  maple,  elm,  birch,  hemlock 
and  pine,  with  many  other  kinds.  The  soil  is 
not  so  deep  and  dark  a  mould  as  in  the  prai- 
ries of  Illinois,  but  is  fertile  and  easily  culti- 
vated; it  is  sandy,  especially  about  the  town 
of  Green  Bay.  Towards  the  lake,  and  near 
the  body  of  water  called  Sturgeon  Bay,  con- 
nected with  Green  Bay,  and  between  that  and 
the  lake,  are  extensive  swamps  and  cranberry 
marshes.  Wild  rice,  tamarisk  and  spruce 
grow  here.  About  Rock  river,  and  from 
thence  to  the  Mississippi,  there  is  much  ex- 
cellent land,  but  a  deficiency  of  timber.  Lead 
and  copper  ore,  and  probably  other  minerals, 
abound  in  this  part  of  the  country.  Along  to 
the  east  and  north  of  the  Four  lakes,  are 
alternate  quagmires  and  sand-ridges,  for  fifty 
miles  or  more,  called  by  the  French  coureurs 
du  hois,  "  terre  tremblant"  (trembling  land), 
the  character  of  which  is  sufficiently  indicated 
by  the  name. 

There  are  several  small  lakes  in  the  district 
of  country  we  are  now  examining;  the  largest 
of  which  is  Winnebago,  situated  thirty  or  for- 
ty miles  south  of  Green  Bay.  It  is  about  ten 
miles  long  and  three  broad,  and  is  full  of  wild 
rice:  Fox  river  passes  through  it.  Kushka- 
nong  is  situated  on  Rock  river,  between  Cat- 
fish and  Whitewater;  it  is  six  or  eight  miles  in 
diameter,  with  some  swamps  and  quagmires 
in  its  vicinity. 

The  Four  lakes  are  strung  along  on  a  stream 
called  Catfish,  which  enters  Rock  river  twen- 


336 

ty-five  or  thirty  miles  above  the  boundary  of 
Illinois.  They  are  six  or  eight  miles  long, 
abounding  with  fish,  and  are  surrounded  with 
an  excellent  farming  country. 

Green  Bay  settlement  and  village  is  two 
hundred  and  thirty  miles  north  of  Chicago; 
two  hundred  and  twenty  north-east  from  Ga- 
lena; one  hundred  and  twenty  from  Fort 
Winnebago,  and  in  north  latitude  44°  44'. 
ffavanno  is  a  town  recently  commenced  in 
this  vicinity,  with  an  excellent  harbor,  grows 
rapidly,  and  bids  fair  to  become  a  place  of 
importance.  Property  has  risen  the  last  year 
most  astonishingly. 

Fort  Winnebago  is  a  military  post,  at  the 
bend,  and  on  the  right  bank  of  Fox  river, 
opposite  the  portage.  From  thence  to  the 
Wisconsin,  is  a  low,  .wet  prairie,  of  three 
fourths  of  a  mile,  through  which,  a  company 
has  been  chartered  to  cut  a  canal.  On  this 
route,  the  first  explorers  reached  the  Missis- 
sippi, in  1673.  The  Wisconsin  river,  how- 
ever, without  considerable  improvement,  is 
not  navigable  for  steam-boats,  at  ordinary 
stages  of  the  water,  without  much  trouble. 
It  is  full  of  bars,  islands,  rocks,  and  has  a 
devious  channel. 

The  streams  that  rise  in  the  eastern  part  of 
this  Territory  and  flow  into  lake  Michigan, 
north  of  the  boundary  of  Illinois,  are  in  order 
as  follows:  1.  Pipe  creek,  a  small  stream,  but 
a  few  miles  from  the  boundary:  2.  Root  river: 
3,  Milwaukee,  ninety  miles  from  Chicago, 


WISCONSIN    TERRITORY.  337 

which  rises  in  the  swampy  country,  south 
of  Winnebago  lake,  runs  a  south-easterly 
course,  and  after  receiving  the  Menomone, 
forms  Milwaukee  bay.  Here  is  a  town  site, 
on  both  sides  of  the  river,  with  a  population 
of  six  or  eight  hundred,  which  promises  to 
become  a  place  of  business.  The  soil  up  the 
Milwaukee  is  good,  from  six  to  twelve  inches 
in  depth,  a  black  loam  and  sand.  Passing 
northward  down  the  lake,  is  Oak  creek,  nine 
miles  below  Milwaukee;  thence  twenty-one 
miles  is  Sauk  creek,  a  small  stream.  Seven- 
ty miles  from  Milwaukee  is  Shab-wi-wi-a-gun. 
Here  is  found  white  pine,  maple,  beech,  birch 
and  spruce,  but  very  little  oak:  the  surface 
level  and  sandy.  Pigeon  river  is  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  further  on,  with  excellent  land 
on  its  borders;  timber,  maple,  ash,  beech, 
linden,  elm,  &c.  Fifteen  miles  further  down 
is  Manatawok.  Here  commences  the  hem- 
lock, with  considerable  pine.  This  stream  is 
about  forty  or  fifty  miles  from  Green  Bay  set- 
tlement. Twin  rivers  are  below  Manatawok, 
with  a  sandy  soil,  and  good  timber  of  pine  and 
other  varieties.  From  Milwaukee  to  Green 
Bay,  by  a  surveyed  route,  is  one  hundred  and 
twelve  miles;  by  the  Indian  trail,  commonly 
traveled,  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles. 
North  of  the  \Visconsin  river  is  Crawford 
county,  of  which  Prairie  du  Chien  is  the,  seat 
of  justice.  From  the  great  bend  at  Fort  Win- 
nebago, across  towards  the  Mississippi,  is  a 
series  of  abrupt  hills,  rising  several  hundred 


338  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

feet,  and  covered  with  a  dense  forest  of  elm, 
linden,  oak,  walnut,  ash,  sugar-maple,  &.c. 
The  soil  is  rich,  but  too  hilly  and  broken  for 
agricultural  purposes.  There  is  no  alluvial 
soil  or  bottoms  along  the  streams,  or  grass  in 
the  forests. 

The  Wisconsin  river  rises  in  an  unexplored 
country,  towards  lake  Superior.  The  coureurs 
du  bois  and  voyageurs  represent  it  as  a  cold, 
mountainous,  dreary  region,  with  swamps. 

West  of  the  Mississippi,  above  Des  Moines, 
and  extending  northward  to  a  point  some  dis- 
tance above  the  northern  boundary  of  Illinois, 
and  for  fifty  miles  interior,  is  a  valuable  coun- 
try, purchased  of  the  Indians,  in  1832.  Its 
streams  rise  in  the  great  prairies,  and  run  an 
east  or  south-east  course  into  the  Mississippi. 
The  most  noted  are  Flint,  Skunk,  Wau-be-se- 
pin-e-con,  Upper  and  Lower  Iowa  rivers,  and 
Turkey,  Catfish  and  Big  and  Little  Ma-quo- 
ka-tois  or  Bear  creeks.  The  soil,  in  general, 
is  excellent,  and  very  much  resembles  the 
military  tract  in  Illinois.  The  water  is  excel- 
lent, plenty  of  lime,  sand  and  freestone,  ex- 
tensive prairies,  but  a  deficiency  of  timber  a 
few  miles  interior.  About  Dubuque,  opposite 
Galena,  are  extensive  and  rich  lead  mines. 
Burlington  is  a  town  at  the  Flint  hills,  opposite 
Warren  county,  Illinois,  containing  a  popula- 
tion of  seven  hundred.  Dubuque  is  situated 
on  the  Mississippi,  on  a  sandy  bottom,  above 
high  water,  and  fourteen  miles  north-west 
from  Galena.  It  has  about  sixty  stores  and 


WISCONSIN    TERRITORY.  339 

groceries,  two  taverns,  two  churches,  and 
about  one  thousand  inhabitants,  and  we  have 
before  us  the  prospectus  for  the  "  Dubuque 
Visitor,"  a  weekly  newspaper.  Peru  is  in 
the  vicinity,  and  contains  about  five  hundred 
inhabitants.  The  New  Purchase,  as  this  dis- 
trict of  country  is  called,  is  divided  into  two 
counties,  Dubuque  and  Des  Moines,  and  con- 
tains a  population  of  eight  or  ten  thousand. 

This  Territory  has,  heretofore,  for  civil 
purposes,  formed  a  part  of  the  late  Michigan 
Territory; — but  in  1836  it  was  erected  into  a 
territorial  government,  by  an  act  of  Congress. 
The  population  has  been  recently  estimated, 
by  the  legislature  of  the  Territory,  at  30,000. 

Probably  not  many  years  will  elapse  before 
two  new  States  will  be  formed  out  of  this  dis- 
trict of  country,  the  one  on  the  eastern  and  the 
other  on  the  western  side  of  the  Mississippi, 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


LITERARY  AND  RELIGIOUS  INSTITUTIONS. 

Colleges— Statistical  Sketch  of  each  Denomination— Field 
for  Effort,  and  Progress  made. 

IN  giving  a  sketch  of  literary  and  religious 
institutions  in  the  West,  the  very  limited 
space  remaining  to  be  occupied  in  this  work, 
compels  me  to  throw  .together  a  few  general 
facts  only.  The  author  has  made  some  pro- 
gress in  collecting  materials,  and  he  designs 
to  prepare  another  work  soon,  in  which  a  va- 
riety of  particulars  and  sketches  will  be  given 
of  the  early  history,  progress  of  literary  and 
religious  institutions,  colleges,  seminaries  and 
churches,  Bible,  Sunday  school,  education, 
and  other  kindred  societies  in  the  Western 
Valley,  with  the  present  aspect  of  each  de- 
nomination of  Christians.  The  interest  taken 
in  the  affairs  of  the  West,  and  the  anxiety 
evinced  by  the  community  for  facts  and  par- 
ticulars on  those  subjects,  demand  that  they 
should  be  treated  more  in  detail  than  the 
limits  of  this  Guide  will  allow. 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,    ETC.  341 

1.     COLLEGES. 

WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA  —  Has  Jefferson 
College,  at  Canon&burgh,  which  the  Presbyte- 
rians originated  in  1802,  from  the  first  grammar 
school  ever  established  by  Protestants  west  of 
the  Alleghany  mountains.  Graduates,  in  1835, 
forty-six ;  new  students  admitted,  seventy-five ; 
present  number,  two  hundred  and  thirty  (in- 
cluding the  preparatory  department),  of  which 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  profess  religion. 
Course  of  mathematics  and  physical  sciences 
greatly  extended,  with  practical  application 
to  civil  engineering.  Instruction  provided  in 
Hebrew,  French,  Spanish,  German,  Portu- 
guese and  Italian; — provision  for  manual  la- 
bor;— expenses  moderate. 

Washington  College,  at  Washington,  Penn., 
also  connected  with  the  Presbyterian  denom- 
ination, founded  in  1806;  had  one  hundred 
and  forty  students  in  1832. 

•Alleghany  College,  at  Meadville,  was  found- 
ed in  1815,  by  Rev.  T.  Alden,  has  a  valuable 
library  of  eight  thousand  volumes,  principally 
the  donation  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Bentley,  of 
Salem,  Mass.,  a  distinguished  benefactor  of 
this  institution.  The  college  did  not  flourish 
for  some  years,  and  it  is  now  transferred  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  is  under 
charge  of  the  Pittsburgh  Conference.  It  now 
promises  to  be  successful. 

The  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania  was 
founded  in  1820.  The  number  of  graduates, 
in  1832,  was  fifty;  of  under  graduates,  in  all 


342  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

* 

departments,  seventy.  A  beautiful  college 
edifice  has  been  erected  in  the  western  part 
of  Pittsburgh,  for  this  institution. 

There  is  no  collegiate  institution  in  Western 
Virginia. 

OHIO. —  Ohio  University,  at  Athens,  was 
founded  in  1802;  has  an  endowment  of  forty- 
six  thousand  and  eighty  acres  of  land,  which 
yields  $2,300  annually.  A  large  and  elegant 
edifice  of  brick  was  erected  in  1817.  The 
number  of  students,  about  ninety. 

Miami  University  was  founded  in  1824,  and 
is  a  flourishing  institution  at  Oxford,  Butler 
county,  thirty-seven  miles  from  Cincinnati. 
It  possesses  the  township  of  land  in  which  it 
is  situated,  and  from  which  it  receives  an  in- 
come of  about  $5000.  Number  of  students, 
about  two  hundred.  Patronized  by  Presbyte- 
rians. 

The  Cincinnati  College  was  incorporated  in 
1819, — continued  to  be  sustained  as  a  clas- 
sical institution  for  some  years,  and  then 
suspended  operations.  It  has  been  revived 
and  reorganized  lately  and  will  probably  be 
sustained. 

Kenyan  College,  at  Gambier,  Knox  county, 
in  a  central  part  of  the  State,  was  established 
in  1828,  through  the  efforts  of  Rev.  Philander 
Chase,  then  bishop  of  the  Ohio  Diocess,  who 
obtained  about  $30,000  in  England  to  endow 
it.  Its  chief  patrons  were  those  excellent 
British  noblemen,  lords  Kenyon  and  Gambier. 
It  is  under  Episcopal  jurisdiction,  and  has  a 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,   ETC.  343 

theological  department,  for  the  education  of 
candidates  for  the  ministry  in  the  Episcopal 
church.  It  has  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
students. 

Western  Reserve  College  is  at  Hudson.  It 
was  founded  by  Presbyterians  and  Congrega- 
tionalists,  in  1826,  and  has  eighty-two  students 
in  all  its  departments. 

Franklin  College  is  in  New  Athens,  Har- 
rison county,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  State, 
and  has  about  fifty  students. 

The  Granville  Literary  and  Theological  In- 
stitution originated  under  patronage  of  the 
Baptist  denomination  in  1831.  It  is  designed 
to  embrace  four  departments, — preparatory, 
English,  collegiate,  and  theological.  It  is 
rapidly  rising,  and  contains  more  than  one 
hundred  students. 

Oberlin  Institute  has  been  recently  estab- 
lished in  Lorrian  county,  under  the  influence 
of  "new  measure"  Presbyterians,  with  four 
departments,  and  hastwo  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  students,  as  follows:  In  the  theological 
department,  thirty-five;  collegiate,  thirty- 
seven;  preparatory, thirty-one;  female,  seven- 
ty-three. The  citizens  of  Cleaveland  have 
recently  contributed  to  it  $15,000,  of  which 
six  persons  gave  $1000  each. 

The  Willibough  Collegiate  Institute  is  in  the 
lake  country  of  Ohio,  and  has  been  gotten  up 
within  a  few  years  past. 

Marietta  Collegiate  Institute  is  said  to  be  a 
flourishing  and  respectable  institution,  having 


344 


a  large  number  of  students  in  various  depart- 
ments. 

INDIANA. — Indiana  College  is  a  State  insti- 
tution, established  at  Bloomington,  and  com- 
menced operations  in  1828.  Present  number 
of  students  not  known.  In  1832,  the  number 
exceeded  fifty. 

Hanover  College  is  at  South  Hanover,  six 
miles  below  the  town  of  Madison,  and  near 
the  Ohio  river.  It  is  a  flourishing  institution, 
with  arrangements  for  manual  labor,  and  is 
styled  "South  Hanover  College  and  Indiana 
Theological  Seminary."  The  number  of  stu- 
dents exceeds  one  hundred. 

Wabash  College,  at  Crawfordsville,  has  just 
commenced  operations  under  auspicious  cir- 
cumstances. Under  patronage  of  the  Pres- 
byterians. 

ILLINOIS. — Illinois  College,  near  Jackson- 
ville, commenced  as  a  preparatory  school  in 
1830,  and  has  made  rapid  progress.  Large 
funds  for  its  endowment  have  been  recently 
provided  in  the  Eastern  States.  The  number 
of  students  about  eighty. 

Shurtleff  College  of  Alton,  Illinois,  was  com- 
menced under  the  efforts  of  Baptists  at  Alton, 
in  1832,  as  a  preparatory  institution: — char- 
tered, as  a  college,  in  February,  1835,  and 
has  been  recently  named  in  honor  of  a  liberal 
patron,  Dr.  Benjamin  Shurtleff,  of  Boston, 
Mass.,  who  has  presented  the  institution  with 
$10,000.  It  has  sixty  students,  and  its  pros- 
pects are  encouraging. 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS, 

McKendreean  College  has  been  chartered, 
a  building  erected,  and  a  school  commenced 
at  Lebanon.  It  is  connected  with  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church.  Charters  have  been 
recently  granted  for  other  colleges  in  this 
State,  and  measures  adopted  to  bring  some  of 
them  into  existence.  The  Rev.  Philander 
Chase,  whose  persevering  labors  brought  into 
existence  and  successful  operation,  Kenyon 
college  in  Ohio,  and  who  is  now  bishop  of 
Illinois,  is  at  present  in  England,  where,  by 
recent  advices,  he  has  obtained  $50,000  to 
invest  in  Illinois  lands,  and  to  establish  a 
college  for  the  interests  of  the  Episcopal 
church. 

MISSOURI.  —  The  Roman  Catholics  have 
two  institutions  of  a  collegiate  character,  es- 
tablished in  this  State. 

St.  Mary's  College,  in  Ferry  county,  was 
established  by  bishop  Du  Bourg,  in  1822. 
It  has  six  thousand  volumes  in  the  library. 
Including  the  nunnery,  and  school  for  females, 
a  seminary  for  the  education  of  priests,  a  pre- 
paratory, and  a  primary  school,  the  number 
of  teachers  and  students,  are  about  three 
hundred. 

St.  Louis  University  was  founded  in  1829,  and 
is  conducted  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of 
Jesuits.  The  edifice  is  one  hundred  and 
thirty  feet  by  forty,  of  four  stories,  including 
the  basement,  and  is  situated  on  elevated  and 
pleasant  ground,  on  the  confines  of  the  city. 
15* 


346 


For  the  Protestants,  the  following  institu- 
tions have  been  established: 

Columbia  College,  adjacent  to  Columbia, 
Boon  county.  The  institution  opened  in  1835, 
under  encouraging  circumstances. 

Marion  College  is  in  a  delightful  tract  of 
country,  a  prairie  region,  in  the  western  part 
of  Marion  county, — and  has  between  eighty 
and  one  hundred  students.  It  is  connected 
with  the  Presbyterian  interests.  The  project, 
as  developed  by  some  of  its  founders,  is  an 
immense  one,  including  English,  scientific, 
classical,  theological,  medical,  agricultural, 
and  law  departments, — all  to  be  sustained  by 
manual  labor,  and  the  proceeds  of  extensive 
farms.  Doubtless,  by  prudent  and  persever- 
ing efforts,  a  respectable  college  may  be 
brought  into  successful  operation. 

A  college  at  St.  Charles,  has  been  founded, 
principally  by  the  liberality  of  George  Collier, 
a  merchant  of  St.  Louis,  and  two  or  three 
other  gentlemen,  and  a  classical  and  scientific 
school  has  been  commenced. 

ARKANSAS. — Efforts  are  making  to  establish 
a  college  by  Presbyterian  agency,  at  Cane 
Hill,  in  this  newly  formed  State.  Two  or 
three  collegiate  institutions  will  soon  be  need- 
ed in  this  region. 

KENTUCKY.  —  Transylvania  University  at 
Lexington,  is  the  oldest  collegiate  institution 
in  the  West.  It  was  commenced,  by  a  grant 
of  eight  thousand  acres  of  land  by  the  legis- 
lature of  Virginia,  in  1783,  and  was  then 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,   ETC.  347 

called  "Transylvania Seminary."  The  "Ken- 
tucky Academy"  was  founded  in  1794,  and 
both  institutions  were  united  and  incorporated 
in  1798,  under  the  present  name.  It  has 
classical,  medical,  law,  and  preparatory  de- 
partments, and  including  each,  from  three  to 
four  hundred  students. 

Center  College,  at  Danville,  was  founded  by 
the  Presbyterian  church,  in  1818,  for  which 
the  synod  of  Kentucky  pledged  $20,000. 
Number  of  students,  about  one  hundred. 

Jlugusta  College  was  founded  in  1822,  by 
the  Ohio  and  Kentucky  conferences  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  It  adopted  col- 
legiate regulations  in  1828.  Number  of  stu- 
dents in  the  collegiate,  academical  and  prima- 
ry departments,  about  two  hundred. 

Cumberland  College  was  incorporated  in 
1324,  and  is  established  at  Princeton,  in  the 
western  part  of  the  State.  It  is  under  the 
patronage  and  jurisdiction  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterians.  A  farm,  including  a  tract  of 
five  thousand  acres  of  land,  with  workshops, 
furnish  facilities  for  manual  labor.  It  has 
about  eighty  students. 

SL  Joseph's  College,  is  a  Roman  Catholic 
institution,  at  Bardstown,  with  college  build- 
ings sufficient  to  accommodate  two  hundred 
students,  and  valued  at  $60,000.  It  com- 
menced with  four  students  in  1820.  In  1833, 
there  were  in  the  collegiate  and  preparatory- 
departments,  one  hundred  and  twenty  students. 
The  St.  Thomas  and  St.  Mary  seminaries, 


348 


are  also  under  the  charge  of  Roman  Catholic 
priests,  the  one  in  Nelson  county,  four  miles 
from  Bardstown,  and  the  other  in  Washington 
county. 

Georgetown  College,  in  Scott  county,  was 
founded  by  the  Baptist  denomination,  in  1830; 
but  for  some  years  it  has  been  in  other  hands, 
and  in  not  a  prosperous  condition.  The 
Campbellites  obtained  a  preponderating  influ- 
ence over  it.  After  much  contention,  an 
arrangement  has  been  effected  to  place  it 
under  the  influence  of  the  denomination  to 
whom  it  fairly  belonged,  and  the  Rev.  B.  F. 
Farnsworth  has  been  elected  president,  and 
has  accepted  the  office.  It  is  expected  to 
prosper  under  this  arrangement. 

TENNESSEE. — The  University  of  Nashville  is 
a  prominent  institution.  The  laboratory  is  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  United  States,  and  the 
rnineralogical  cabinet  not  exceeded,  and  this 
department,  as  well  as  every  other  in  the  col- 
lege, is  superintended  with  much  talent.  The 
number  of  students  is  about  one  hundred. 

Greenville,  Knoxville  and  Washington  col- 
leges are  in  East  Tennessee. 

Jackson  College  is  about  to  be  removed 
from  its  present  site,  and  located  at  Columbia; 
$'•25,000  have  been  subscribed  for  the  purpose. 
A  Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary  is  at 
Maryville. 

MISSISSIPPI. — Jefferson  College  is  at  Wash- 
ington, six  miles  from  Natchez.  It  has  not 
flourished  as  a  college,  and  is  now  said  to  be 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,   ETC.  349 

conducted  somewhat   on  the   principle    of  a 
military  academy. 

Oakland  College  has  been  recently  founded 
by  Presbyterians,  and  bids  fair  to  exert  a 
beneficial  influence  upon  religion  and  morals, 
much  needed  in  that  State.  The  Baptist  de- 
nomination are  taking  measures  to  establish  a 
collegiate  institution  in  that  State. 

LOUISIANA — Has  a  college  at  Jackson,  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  State.  The  Roman 
Catholics  have  a  college  at  New  Orleans. 

ALABAMA. — There  is  a  respectable  colle- 
giate institution,  under  the  fostering  care  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  at  La  Grange, 
in  the  north-western  part  of  this  State. 

Academies  have  been  established  in  various 
parts  of  the  West,  for  both  sexes,  and  there 
are  female  seminaries  of  character  and  stand- 
ing at  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Granville,  Louis- 
ville, Lexington,  Nashville,  and  many  other 
places.  Several  more  colleges,  and  a  large 
number  of  minor  institutions,  will  be  needed 
very  shortly  to  supply  the  demands  for  edu- 
cation in  the  West.  The  public  mind  is 
awake  to  the  subject  of  education,  and  much 
has  already  been  done,  though  a  greater  work 
has  yet  to  be  accomplished  to  supply  the  wants 
of  the  West  in  literary  institutions. 

An  annual  convention  is  held  in  Cincinnati, 
on  the  first  Monday  in  October,  denominated 
the  "  Western  Institute  and  College  of  Profes- 
sional Teachers."  Its  object,  according  to 
the  constitution,  is,  "to  promote  by  every 


350  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

laudable  means,  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  in 
regard  to  education,  and  especially  by  aiming 
at  the  elevation  ef  the  character  of  teachers, 
who  shall  have  adopted  instruction  as  their 
regular  profession."  The  first  meeting  was 
held  in  1831,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
"Academic  Institute,"  a  previously  existing 
institution,  but  of  more  limited  operations. 
The  second  convention,  in  1832,  framed  a 
constitution  and  chose  officers,  since  which 
time  regular  meetings  have  been  held  by  del- 
egates or  individuals  from  various  parts  of  the 
West,  and  a  volume  of  Transactions  of  three 
or  four  hundred  pages  published  annually. 

II.    THEOLOGICAL    INSTITUTIONS. 

The  Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Alleg- 
hany  town,  opposite  Pittsburgh,  is  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  general  assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  It  commenced  opera- 
tions in  1829.  At  Canonsburg  is  a  seminary 
belonging  to  the  Associate  church,  of  which 
Dr.  Ramsey  is  professor.  The  Associate 
Reformed  church  have  a  theological  school  in 
Pittsburgh,  undercharge  of  the  Rev.  John  T. 
Pressly,  D.  P.  The  Baptist  denomination  are 
now  engaged  in  establishing  a  manual  labor 
academy  in  the  vicinity  of  Pittsburgh,  for  both 
ministerial  and  general  education. 

The  theological  departments  of  Oberlin, 
Granville,  and  other  collegiate  institutions, 
have  already  been  noticed.  Lane  Seminary, 
near  Cincinnati,  was  founded  in  1830,  by 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,    ETC.  351 

Messrs.  E.  &  W.  A.  Lane,  merchants,  of 
New  Orleans,  who  made  a  very  liberal  offer 
of  aid.  Its  location  is  excellent,  two  and  a 
half  miles  from  Cincinnati,  at  Walnut  Hills, 
and  is  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Beecher,  and  a  body  of  professors.  Number 
of  students  about  forty.  The  Hanover  Insti- 
tution in  Indiana,  has  been  noticed  already. 
In  the  theological  department  are  three  pro- 
fessors and  twelve  students.  The  Baptists  in 
this  State  are  about  establishing  a  manual 
labor  seminary  for  ministerial  and  general 
education. 

A  valuable  property  has  been  purchased, 
adjoining  Covington,  Ky.,  opposite  Cincinna- 
ti, and  measures  have  been  put  in  train  to 
found  a  theological  seminary  by  the  Baptist 
denomination.  The  executive  committee  of 
the  "  Western  Baptist  Education  Society," 
have  this  object  in  charge.  The  "  Jilt  on 
Theological  Seminary,"  located  at  Upper  Al- 
ton, Illinois,  is  under  an  organization  distinct 
from  that  of  Shurtleff  College,  already  noticed. 
This  institution  has  fifty  acres  of  valuable 
land,  and  a  stone  edifice  of  respectable  size, 
occupied  at  present  in  joint  concern  with  the 
college,  and  a  valuable  library  of  several 
hundred  volumes.  Its  organization  has  been 
but  recently  effected.  Rev.  L.  Colby  is  pro- 
fessor, with  eight  students.  Other  institu- 
tions, having  theological  education,  either  in 
whole  or  in  part,  their  object,  are  in  contem- 
plation. 

Two  remarks,  by  way  of  explanation,  are 


352 

here  necessary.  1.  Most  of  the  colleges  and 
theological  schools  of  the  Western  Valley, 
have  facilities  for  manual  labor,  or  are  making 
that  provision.  In  several,  some  of  the  stu- 
dents pay  half,  and  even  the  whole  of  their 
expenses,  by  their  own  efforts.  Public  senti- 
ment is  awake  to  this  subject,  and  is  gaining 
ground.  2.  In  enumerating  the  students,  the 
members  of  the  preparatory  departments  are 
included,  many  of  whom  do  not  expect  to  pass 
through  a  regular  collegiate  course.  The 
circumstances  and  wants  of  the  country,  from 
its  rapid  growth,  seem  to  require  the  appen- 
dage of  a  large  preparatory  department  to 
every  college. 

It  may  be  well,  to  observe  here,  that  a 
great  and  increasing  demand  exists  in  all  the 
Western  States,  and  especially  those  border- 
ing on  the  Mississippi,  for  teachers  of  primary 
schools.  Hundreds  and  thousands  of  moral, 
intelligent  and  pious  persons,  male  and  fe- 
male, would  meet  with  encouragement  and 
success  in  this  department  of  labor.  It  is 
altogether  unnecessary  for  such  persons  to 
write  to  their  friends,  to  make  inquiries 
whether  there  are  openings,  &c.  If  they 
come  from  the  older  States,  with  the  proper 
recommendations  as  to  character  and  qualifi- 
cations, they  will  not  fail  to  meet  with  em- 
ployment in  almost  any  quarter  to  which  they 
may  direct  their  course.  There  is  not  a 
county  in  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Illinois,  or 
Indiana,  where  persons  would  not  meet  with 
constant  employment  in  teaching,  and  espe- 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,    ETC.  353 

cially  where  teachers  in  Sabbath  schools  are 
needed.  Persons  desirous  of  such  a  field  of 
humble,  yet  useful  labor,  should  come  here 
with  the  fixed  purpose  to  mix  with,  and  con- 
form to  the  usages  of  the  western  popula- 
tion, to  avoid  fastidiousness,  and  to  submit  to 
the  plain,  frank,  social  and  hospitable  rnanners- 
of  the  people. 

III.     DEAF  AND   DUMB  ASYLUMS. 

There  are  two  institutions  of  this  descrip- 
tion in  the  West:  one  at  Columbus,  Ohio' 
the  other  at  Danville,  Ky.  The  one  in  Ohio 
contains  about  fifty  pupils. 

IV.     MEDICAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

The  medical  department  in  Transylvania 
university,  Kentucky,  has  six  professors,  and 
usually  about  two  hundred  students  to  attend 
the  lectures.  Fees  for  an  entire  course,  with 
matriculation  and  library,  one  hundred  and 
ten  dollars.  Two  medical  institutions  of  re- 
spectable standing  exist  in  Cincinnati:  one 
connected  with  the  Miami  university,  the 
other  with  Cincinnati  college. 

The  Ohio  Reformed  Medical  School  \vas- 
established  at  Worthington,  nine  miles  north 
of  Columbus,  in  1830.  No  specified  time  is. 
required  for  study;  but  when  a  student  will 
pass  examination,  he  is  licensed  to  practice. 

V.     LAW  SCHOOLS. 

The  law  department  of  Transylvania  uni- 
versity is  under  the  charge   of  two   able  pro- 
fessors, who  hear  recitations  and  deliver  lee- 
16 


354  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

tures.     The   average   number  of  students  is 
about  forty. 

A  law  school  was  established  at  Cincinnati, 
in  1833,  with  four  professors: — Messrs.  John 
C.  Wright,  John  M.  Goodenow,  Edward 
King  and  Timothy  Walker.  The  bar,  the 
institution  and  the  city  have  recently  sustain- 
ed a  severe  loss  in  the  decease  of  Mr.  King. 

VI.     BENEVOLENT  AND  RELIGIOUS  SOCIETIES. 

To  enumerate  and  give  particulars  of  all 
these,  would  make  a  volume.  We  can  but 
barely  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  some 
of  the  more  prominent  organizations  amongst 
the  different  Christian  denominations  in  this 
great  Valley,  for  doing  good. 

The  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Val- 
ley of  the  Mississippi,  is  a  prominent  auxiliary 
of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions.  Its  seat  is  Cincinnati; 
but  by  agencies  and  branches,  it  operates 
throughout  the  Valley.  The  Report  of  No- 
vember, 1835,  states,  that  eighteen  lliousand 
six  hundred  and  fifty-eight  dollars  had  been 
received  into  the  treasury  the  preceding  year. 
An  edition  of  3000  copies  of  the  Missionary 
Herald  is  republished  in  Cincinnati,  for  cir- 
culation in  the  West. 

The  Western  Education  Society,  connected 
with  the  American  Education  Society,  has 
also  its  seat  of  operations  at  Cincinnati.  Aux- 
iliaries also  exist  in  most  of  the  Western 
States.  Seventy-one  beneficiaries  were  un- 
der its  charge  at  the  last  anniversary. 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,   ETC.  355 

The  American  Tract  Society  has  auxiliaries 
and  agencies  in  most  of  the  \Vestern  States. 
The  operations  of  the  American  Bible  Society, 
through  its  numerous  auxiliaries,  is  felt  to  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  West. 

The  American  Sunday  School  Union  has 
recently  established  a  central  agency  in  Cin- 
cinnati, and  is  preparing  to  renew  and  greatly 
enlarge  its  very  important  efforts  for  the  ben- 
efit  of  the  rising  generation  in  the  West. 

A  series  of  very  interesting  anniversaries 
are  held  in  Cincinnati  the  first  week  in  No- 
vember, when  all  the  great  objects  of  Chris- 
tian effort  receive  a  renewed  impulse. 

The  American  Home  Missionary  Society  has 
more  than  tvv.o  hundred  missionaries  laboring 
in  the  States  west  of  the  mountains.  In 
1835,  they  assisted  two  hundred  and  seven- 
teen Presbyterian  ministers  in  this  field. 

The  Temperance  effort  has  not  been  neglect- 
ed, and  an  interesting  change  is  going  for- 
ward, in  a  quiet  and  noiseless  way,  in  the 
habits  of  the  people,  in  reference  to  the  use 
of  intoxicating  liquors.  It  is  to  be  hoped, 
that  more  prompt  and  vigorous  efforts  will  be 
made  to  promote  this  cause;  but  even  now, 
there  are  many  thousands,  who  abstain  from 
the  use  of  spirituous  liquors  without  any  for- 
mal pledge. 

The  Mdthodist  Episcopal  church,  in  addi- 
tion to  their  regular  system  of  circuits,  are 
extending  the  influence  of  their  denomination 
on  the  frontiers,  by  missionary  operations, 
and  their  labors  are  prospered. 


356  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

The  Baptist  denomination  have  made  some 
important  movements  in  the  Western  Valley 
within  the  last  three  years.  Their  Home 
Mission  Society  has  nearly  one  hundred  mis- 
sionaries in  the  West.  In  November,  1833, 
the  "  General  Convention  of  Western  Baptists" 
was  organized  by  more  than  one  hundred 
ministers  and  brethren,  assembled  from  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  West.  It  is  not  an  ecclesi- 
astical body,  claiming  jurisdiction  either  over 
churches  or  ministers,  nor  is  it  strictly  a  mis- 
sionary body.  Its  business,  according  to  the 
constitution,  is,  "to  promote,  by  all  lawful 
means,  the  following  objects,  to  wit: — Mis- 
sions, both  foreign  and  domestic;  ministerial 
education,  for  such  as  may  have  first  been 
licensed  by  the  churches;  Sunday  schools, 
including  Bible  classes;  religious  periodicals; 
tract  and  temperance  societies;  as  well  as  all 
others  warranted  by  Christ  in  the  gospel." 

At  its  second  session,  in  1834,  the  "  West- 
ern Baptist  Education  Society"  was  formed. 
Its  object  is  "the  education  of  those  who  give 
evidence  to  the  churches  of  which  they  are 
members,  that  God  designs  them  for  the  min- 
istry." The  executive  committee  are  charg- 
ed temporarily  with  establishing  the  Central 
Theological  Seminary,  already  mentioned,  at 
Covington,  Ky. 

Many  other  interesting  associations  for 
humane,  philanthropic  and  religious  purposes, 
exist  in  the  Valley,  which  are  necessarily 
omitted. 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,   ETC.  357 

VII.     THE  PERIODICAL  PRESS. 

The  number  of  different  periodicals  pub- 
lished in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  must 
exceed  four  hundred,  of  which  twelve  or  fif- 
teen are  daily  papers.  There  are  twenty-five 
weekly  periodicals  in  Mississippi,  one  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  in  Ohio,  thirty-eight  in  Indi- 
ana, nineteen  in  Illinois,  seventeen  in  Mis- 
souri, three,  and  probably  more,  in  Arkansas, 
two,  at  least,  in  Wisconsin  Territory.  The 
Western  Monthly  Magazine,  published  at  Cin- 
cinnati, is  well  known.  The  Western  Litera- 
ry Journal  and  Monthly  Review  is  a  respecta- 
ble periodical,  under  the  editorial  manage- 
ment of  W.  D.  Gallagher,  Esq.  The  Western 
Journal  of  the  Medical  and  Physical  Sciences, 
edited  by  Daniel  Drake,  M.  D.,  Professor  of 
Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine  in  the  Cin- 
cinnati college,  is  published  quarterly,  in 
Cincinnati.  There  are  a  number  of  religious 
weekly,  semi-monthly  and  monthly  periodicals, 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  principal  de- 
nominations through  the  Valley.  There  are 
known  to  be  at  least  one  in  Western  Virginia, 
two  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  seven  in  Ohio, 
four  in  Kentucky,  four  in  Tennessee,  two  in 
Illinois,  two  in  Missouri,  and  one  in  New 
Orleans.  Supposing  the  average  number  of 
copies  of  western  periodicals  equalled  seven 
hundred  and  fifty,  this,  estimating  the  different 
periodicals  at  four  hundred,  would  give  three 
hundred  thousand!  We  see  no  marked  and 
essential  difference  in  the  talent  with  which 


358  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

the  editorial  press  is  conducted,  between  the 
Eastern  and  Western  States.  The  limits  of 
this  work  will  not  allow  me  to  add  further 
evidence  that  our  western  population  are  not 
all  "  illiterate,"  and  that  "  not  more  than  one 
person  in  ten  can  read,"  than  the  following 
epitome  of  the  issues  of  one  of  the  publishing- 
houses  in  Cincinnati,  as  exhibited  in  the  Cin- 
cinnati Journal. 

"  Western  Enterprise.  The  enterprise  of 
the  West  is  not  generally  appreciated.  As  a 
specimen,  we  have  procured  from  Messrs. 
Corey  &  WTebster  the  following  list  of  books, 
published  by  them  within  the  last  three  years. 
These  books  are  of  sterling  value. 

Western  Primer, 60,000 

Webster's  Spelling  Book, 600,000 

Primary  Reader, 7,500 

Elementary  Reader, 37,000 

Western          "          16,000 

Webster's  History  of  the  United  States,.  .  .  .  4,000 

Miss  Beecher's  Geography, 15,000 

Pocket  Testament, 6,500 

Watts'  and  Select  Hymns, 8,000 

Beecher's   Lectures   on    Skepticism,    (three 

editions,  1000  each), 3,000 

Stowe's  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Bible,  1 ,500 

Christian  Lyre 2,000 

Mitchell's  Chemistry, 1,000 

Eberle  on  the  Diseases  of  Children, 2,000 

Eberle's  Notes  of  Practice, 1 ,500 

Young  Lady's  Assistant  in  Drawing, 1,000 

Munsell's  Map, 3,500 

Chase's  Statutes  of  Ohio,  (three  volumes,)  .  1,000 

Hammond's  Reports,  (sixth  volume,) 500 

Total,  771,000 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,    ETC. 


359 


Probably  some  of  the  many  other  publishers 
in  the  city  have  got  out  nearly  or  quite  as 
many  books.  Truly,  we  are  a  book-making 
and  book-reading  nation." 

VIII.    RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 

In  exhibiting  the  following  statistics,  entire 
correctness  is  not  attempted.  In  some  of  the 
States,  the  latest  reports  have  been  had;  in 
others,  the  author  has  taken  data  of  two  or 
three  years  date.  Of  the  numbers  of  some  of 
the  numerous  sects  existing,  the  opinions  of 
individuals  have  been  the  chief  data  he  could 
obtain. 

1.  Baptists. 


STATES  AND  PARTS  OF  STATES. 

CImrches. 

Ministers. 

Communi- 
cants. 

Western  Pennsylvania,  

50 

30 

2,569 

89 

48 

3,306 

Ohio,  

332 

175 

13,926 

Michigan,                                         .  .  . 

60 

80 

1,700 

Indiana,                                    

320 

175 

15,000 

?40 

163 

6,741 

180 

115 

6,990 

Arkansas,    

25 

18 

700 

20 

12 

1,000 

Mississippi, 

100 

46 

4,000 

North  Alabama,                               .  .  . 

125 

53 

5,700 

Tennessee,  

348 

292 

22,868 

Kentucky,  .                              

558 

296 

38,817 

Total, 

2447 

1353 

123317 

Periodicals.    The  Cross  and  Journal,  weekly, 
and  Baptist  Advocate,  monthly,  at  Cincinnati; 


360 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


the  Baptist  Banner,  weekly,  at  Shelby ville,  Ky. ; 
the  Baptist,  a  large  monthly  quarto,  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.;  the  Western  Pioneer  and  Baptist 
Standard- Bearer,  weekly,  at  Upper  Alton,  111. ; 
and  the  Witness,  a  small  quarto,  weekly,  at 
Pittsburgh. 

2.  Methodists  (Episcopal).  This  denomina- 
tion is  divided  into  conferences,  which  are  not 
arranged  exactly  with  the  boundaries  of  the 
States.  A  large  book  and  printing-office  is  es- 
tablished at  Cincinnati,  where  all  the  society's 
publications  are  kept  for  sale.  Another  de- 
pository is  kept  at  Nashville. 


Conferences. 

or 
u 

£ 

->    0 

11 

White  Monibcrs. 

1 

Colored. 

• 

s 
_e3 

•5 

= 
~" 

5 

1 
It 

11 

Mississippi,  
Alabama,  (one  Dis- 
trict in  the  Valley.) 
Pittsburgh,  
Ohio, 

55 

16 

156 
?,04 

6,358 

3,051 
40,155 
62,686 

2,622 

490 
296 
544 

727 
217 

9,707 

3,543 

40,451 
63,447 

Missouri,    (including 
Arkansas,)  
Kentucky,  

57 

100 

7,948 
25,777 

1,061 
5,592 

889 

9,898 
31,369 

Illinois,  
[ndiana,  

61 
70 

15,038 

24,984 

59 
229 

15,097 
25,213 

Holston,  
Tennessee, 

62 

1?0 

2  1  ,559 
29,794 

2,478 
5,043 

508 

24,031 
35,345 

Total,  90i;237,350  18,416  2,341  258,101 

Allowing  two  local  to  one  circuit  preacher, 
which  is  rather  under  than  over  the  proper- 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,    ETC.  361 

tion,  would  make  1802,  which,  added  to  the 
number  of  those  whose  names  are  on  the 
minutes  of  the  conferences,  would  make  2703 
Methodist  Episcopal  ministers  of  the  gospel 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Pitts- 
burgh Conference  Journal,  Western  Christian 
Advocate,  and  Western  Methodist,  are  their 
periodicals. 

3.  Methodists  (Protestant).      There  are  two 
conferences  of  this  denomination,  in  the  West; 
the  Pittsburgh  and  Ohio  conferences  and  their 
circuits,  preaching-stations  and  members,  ex- 
tend through  the  States  north  of  the  Ohio  riv- 
er, with  a  few  stations  and  churches  south. 

Pittsburgh  Conference  has  twenty-eight  cir- 
cuit and  eighty-five  local  preachers  and  licen- 
tiates; twenty-five  circuits,  four  stations  and 
two  mission-circuits,  with  six  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  two  members  in  society. 

Ohio  Conference  has  twenty-eight  circuit 
and  ninety  local  preachers,  twenty-two  cir- 
cuits, three  stations,  three  mission-circuits, 
and  three  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-sev- 
en members.  The  Methodist  Correspondent, 
a  neat,  semi-monthly  quarto  periodical,  pub- 
lished at  Zanesville,  Ohio,  is  devoted  to  their 
interests. 

4.  Presbyterians.    The  following  table  (with 
the  exception  of  Illinois),  embraces  fifty-six 
presbyteries,  and  is  constructed  from  the  re- 
turns to  the  general  assembly,  in   1834;   the 
minutes  of   1835,    we    understand,   have   not 
been  printed. 


362 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


STATES  AHD  PARTS  OF  STATES. 

Churches. 

Z 

"£ 
'£ 

^ 

Communi- 
cants. 

Western  Pennsylvania  and  Western  ) 
Virginia,                                              } 
Michigan,    . 

212 
32 

135 

20 

22,687 
1,397 

Ohio, 

400 

255 

27,821 

Indiana, 

99 

55 

4,339 

Illinois,           

71 

50 

2,000 

Missouri,  

33 

20 

1,549 

1? 

9 

390 

120 

83 

8,378 

Tennessee,  

121 

90 

9,926 

North  Alabama,  

15 

12 

725 

33 

?,4 

761 

Total, 

1148 

753 

79,973 

Periodicals.  The  Cincinnati  Journal  and 
Western  Luminary,  published  at  Cincinnati; 
Christian  Herald,  at  Pittsburgh;  Ohio  Ob- 
server, at  Hudson,  Ohio;  Western  Presbyterian 
Herald,  at  Louisville,  Ky. ;  JVeio  Orleans  Ob- 
server, at  New  Orleans;  and  Alton  Observer, 
at  Alton,  111. ; — all  weekly;  and  the  Missionary 
Herald,  republished  at  Cincinnati,  monthly. 

5.  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  This  sect 
originated  from  the  Preshyterian  church  in 
1804,  in  Kentucky,  but  did  not  increase  much 
till  1810  or  12.  They  are  spread  through 
most  of  the  Western  States,  and  have  thirty- 
four  presbyteries,  seven  synods,  and  one  gen- 
eral assembly.  The  minutes  of  their  general 
assembly,  now  before  me,  are  not  sufficiently 
definite  to  give  the  number  of  congregations. 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,   ETC.  363 

These  probably  exceed  three  hundred.  An 
intelligent  member  of  that  denomination  states 
the  number  of  ordained  preachers  to  be  three 
hundred,  licentiates,  one  hundred,  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and 
communicants,  50,000. 

Periodicals.  The  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
is  a  weekly  paper,  published  at  Nashville, 
Tenn.  Another  has  been  recently  started  at 
Pittsburgh. 

6.  Congregationalists.     In   Ohio,  especially 
in  the  northern  part,  are  a  number  of  Con- 
gregational  churches,  and  some  ministers,  as 
there   are   in  Indiana,  Michigan  and  Illinois. 
There  are  two  or  three  ministers,  twelve  or 
fifteen  congregations,  and  about  five  hundred 
communicants  in   Illinois,  who  are  organized 
into  an  association  in  Illinois. 

7.  Protestant  Episcopal   Church.     This  de- 
nomination  has  seven  diocesses  in  the  West- 
ern   or    south-western    States,    exclusive    of 
Western  Pennsylvania  and  Western  Virginia, 
which  belong  to  the  diocesses  of  those  States. 
They  are,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Indiana  and  Missouri. 
There  are  about  seventy-five  or  eighty  minis- 
ters, and  twice  as  many  churches  in  the  West. 
Provision  has  been  made,  in   part,  for  the  en- 
dowment of  the  theological  seminary  at  Gam- 
bier,  O.,  in  England,   and  Bishop  Mcllvaine 
has  obtained  about  $12,600,  to  be  appropriat- 
ed  in   the  erection  of  a  gothic  edifice,  to  be 
called  "  Bexley  Hall,"  with  three  stories,  and 


364 

accommodations  for  fifty  students.  A  weekly 
periodical  is  issued  at  the  same  place,  to  sup- 
port the  interests  of  the  denomination. 

8.  German  Lutherans.     We  have   no  data 
to  give  the    statistics    of  this   denomination. 
There  is  a  synod  in  Ohio,  another  in  Western 
Pennsylvania,  and  perhaps  others.    There  are 
probably  fifty  or  sixty  ministers  in  the  Wrest, 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  congregations. 

9.  German  Reformed    Church.     There   are 
eighty  congregations  in  Ohio,  twenty  in  Indi- 
ana, and   probably  fifty  others  in  the  West, 
with  forty  or  fifty  ministers. 

10.  The    Tunkers,  or  Dunkards,  have  forty 
or    fifty  churches,    and   about   half  as  many 
ministers  in  the  Western  States. 

11.  The    Shakers  have  villages  in  several 
places  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  but  are  losing 
ground. 

12.  The  Mormons  have  a  large  community 
at  Kirkland,  Ohio,  where,  under  the  direction 
of   their    prophet,    Joseph    Smith,    they    are 
building  a  vast  temple.     They  have  probably 
two  hundred  preachers,  and  as  many  congre- 
gations in  the  West,  and  still  make  proselytes. 

13.  Christian  Sect,  or  Newlights,  have  be- 
come, to  a  considerable   extent,  amalgamated 
with  the  "  Reformers,"  or  "  Campbdliies."     I 
have  not  data  on  which  to  construct  a  tabular 
view  of  this  sect;   but  from  general   informa- 
tion, estimate  the  number  of  their  "  bishops" 
and    "  proclaimers "    at    three    hundred,   and 
their   communicants    at     10,000    or    12,000. 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,    ETC.  365 

They   have   three    or  four   monthly    periodi- 
cals. 

Alexander  Campbell,  who  may  be  justly 
considered  the  leader  of  this  sect  (though 
they  disclaim  the  term  sect),  is  a  learned, 
talented,  and  voluminous  writer.  He  con- 
ducts their  leading  periodical, — the  Millennial 
Harbinger. 

14.  The  "  United  Brethren  in   Christ,"  are 
a  pious,  moral  and  exemplary  sect,  chiefly  in 
Ohio,  but  scattered  somewhat  in  other  West- 
ern States.     They  are  mostly  of  German  de- 
scent, and,  in  their  doctrinal   principles  and 
usages,  very  much  resemble  the  Methodists. 
They  have  about  three   hundred   ministers  in 
the  West,  and  publish  the  Religious  Telescope, 
a  large  weekly  paper,  of  evangelical   princi- 
ples, and  well  conducted, — printed  at  Circle- 
ville,  Ohio. 

15.  Reformed  Presbyterians,  or  Covenanters, 
have  twenty  or  thirty  churches,  and  as  many 
ministers,  but  are  much  dispersed  through  the 
Northern  Valley. 

16.  The  Associate   Church,  or  Seceders,  are 
more  numerous  than  the  Covenanters. 

17  The  Associate  Reformed  Church.  The 
western  synod  of  this  body  still  exists  as  a 
separate  denomination.  Their  theological 
school,  at  Pittsburgh,  has  already  been  no- 
ticed. I  know  not  their  numbers,  but  sup- 
pose they  exceed  considerably  the  Associate 
Church. 

18.  The  Friends,  or  Quakers,  have  a  num- 


366  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

her  of  societies    in   Western   Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  Indiana,  &c. 

19.  The  Unitarians  have  societies  and  min- 
isters at  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Louisville,  St. 
Louis,  and  probably  in  other  places. 

There  are  many  other  sects  and  fragments 
in  the  West.  The  Valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
like  all  new  countries,  is  a  wide  and  fertile 
field  for  the  propagation  of  error,  as  it  is  for 
the  display  of  truth. 

20.  Roman  Catholics.     The  number  of  pa- 
pal diocesses  in  the  Valley,  including  the  one 
at  Mobile,  is  seven,  of  each  of  which  a  very 
brief  sketch  will  be  given,  commencing  with, 

1.  Detroit,  including  Michigan  and  the 
North-Western  Territory, — one  bishop,  with 
sub-officers,  eighteen  priests,  and  as  many 
chapels.  At  Detroit  and  vicinity,  for  two  or 
three  miles,  including  the  French,  Irish  and 
Germans,  Roman  Catholic  families  make  up 
one  third  of  the  population;  probably  3,500, 
of  ail  ages.  At  Ann  Arbor,  and  in  the  towns 
of  Webster,  Scio,  Northfield,  Lima  and  Dex- 
ter are  many.  At  and  near  Bertrand  on  the 
St.  Joseph's  river,  adjoining  Indiana,  they 
have  a  school  established  and  an  Indian  mis- 
sion. Including  the  fur  traders  and  Indians, 
they  may  be  estimated  at  10,000  in  this 
diocess.* 

*  The  reader  \vill  note  that  our  estimates  of  Roman 
Catholics  include  the  whole  family  of  every  age.  Where- 
as, our  statistics  of  Protestant  denominations  included  only 
communicants. 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,  ETC.  367 

%.  Cincinnati.  A  large  cathedral  has  been 
built  in  this  place,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  chap- 
els in  the  diocess.  Ten  years  ago,  the  late 
bishop  Fenwick  could  not  count  up  five  hun- 
dred. The  emigration  of  foreigners,  and  the 
laborers  on  the  Ohio  canals,  and  not  a  little 
success  in  proselyting,  account  forN  the  in- 
crease. There  are  twenty-five  congregations, 
and  eighteen  priests.  A  literary  institution, 
called  the  Athenaeum,  is  established  at  Cincin- 
nati, where  the  students  are  required  to  attend 
the  forms  of  worship,  and  the  superior  in- 
spects all  their  letters.  St.  Peter's  Orphan 
Asylum,  is  under  charge  of  four  "  Sisters  of 
Charity."  The  number  of  Catholics  in  Cin- 
cinnati is  variously  estimated,  the  medium  of 
which  is  6000,  and  as  many  more  dispersed 
through  the  State. 

3.  Bardstown.  This  includes  the  State  of 
Kentucky,  and  has  a  bishop,  with  the  usual 
subordinates,  twenty-seven  congregations,  and 
thiry-three  priests,  eleven  of  whom  reside  at 
Bardstown.  A  convent  of  six  Jesuit  priests 
at  Lebanon  ;  another  of  five  Dominicans, 
called  St.  Rose,  in  Washington  county;  the 
college  at  Bardstown,  already  noticed,  and 
St.  JVJary's  Seminary  in  Washington  county, 
for  the  education  of  priests.  Of  female  insti- 
tutions, there  are  the  Female  Academy  of 
Nazareth,  at  Bardstown,  conducted  by  the 
"Sisters  of  Charity,"  and  superintended  by 
the  bishop  and  professors  of  St.  Joseph's  col- 
lege,— one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils  ;  the 


368  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

female  academy  of  Loretto,  Washington 
county,  with  accommodation  for  one  hundred 
boarders,  and  directed  by  the  "  Sisters  of 
Mary  at  the  foot  of  the  cross."  This  order 
have  six  other  places  for  country  schools,  and 
are  said  to  be  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  in 
number.  The  Convent  of  Holy  Mary,  and  the 
Monastery  of  St.  Magdalene,  at  St.  Rose, 
Washington  county,  by  Dominican  nuns,  fif- 
teen in  number,  and  in  1831,  thirty  pupils. 
The  Catholics  have  a  female  academy  at 
Lexington,  with  one  hundred  pupils. 

I  have  no  data  to  show  the  Roman  Catholic 
population  of  this  State,  but  it  is  by  no  means 
proportionate  to  the  formidable  machinery 
here  exhibited.  All  this  array  of  colleges, 
seminaries,  monasteries,  convents  and  nun- 
neries is  for  the  work  of  proselyting,  and  if 
they  are  not  successful,  it  only  shows  that  the 
current  of  popular  sentiment  sets  strongly  in 
another  direction. 

4.  Vincennes.  This  is  a  new  diocess,  re- 
cently carved  out  of  Indiana  and  Illinois,  by 
the  authority  of  an  old  gentleman,  who  lives 
in  the  city  of  Rome!  It  includes  a  dozen 
chapels,  four  or  five  priests,  the  St.  Claire 
convent  at  Vincennes,  with  several  other  ap- 
pendages. The  Roman  Catholic  population 
of  this  State  is  not  numerous,  probably  not 
exceeding  3000.  Illinois  has  about  5000,  a 
part  of  which  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  St. 
Louis  diocess.  In  Illinois,  there  are  ten 
churches  and  six  priests,  a  part  of  which  are 


LITERARY    INSTITUTIONS,  ETC.  369 

included  in  the  diocess  of  Indiana.  A  con- 
vent of  nans  of  the  "  Visitation  of  the  blessed 
Virgin  Mary,"  at  Kaskaskia,  who  conduct  a 
female  school,  with  a  few  boarders  and  about 
thirty  or  forty  day  scholars. 

5.  St.  Loids.  This  diocess  includes  eight- 
een congregations  and  nineteen  priests,  with 
the  following  appendages: — 1.  St.  Louis  Uni- 
versity, already  noticed,  with  six  priests,  for 
instructers,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  students, 
of  which,  about  eighty  are  boarders.  The 
rules  require  their  attendance  on  morning  and 
evening  prayers,  the  catechism,  and  divine 
service  on  Sundays  and  holidays.  2.  St. 
Mary's  college,  also  noticed  in  our  description 
of  colleges.  3.  Noviciate  for  Jesuits  under 
St.  Stanislaus,  in  St.  Louis  county. 

Of  female  institutions  there  are, — 1.  Con- 
vent of  the  "Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  ^  at 
St.  Louis;  2.  another  of  the  same  description, 
and  their  noviciate,  at  Florrissant;  3.  another 
of  the  same  order  at  St.  Charles;  4.  a  female 
academy  at  Carondalet,  six  miles  below  St. 
Louis,  by  the  "  Sisters  of  Charily;"  5.  a  con- 
vent and  academy  of  the  "  Sisters  of  Loreito," 
at  New  Madrid;  6.  a  convent  and  female 
academy  at  Frederickstown,  under  supervision 
of  a  priest;  7.  a  convent  and  female  academy 
of  the  "  Sisters  of  Loretto,"  in  Perry  county. 
The  Roman  Catholic  population  in  Missouri 
does  not  exceed  15,000.  Their  pupils  of  both 
sexes,  may  be  estimated  at  seven  hundred. 
To  the  above  may  be  added  the  hospital,  and 
16* 


370 


the  asylum  for  boys,  in  St.  Louis,  under  the 
management  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 

Roman  Catholic  teachers,  usually  foreign- 
ers, disperse  themselves  through  the  country, 
and  engage  in  teaching  primary  schools; 
availing  themselves  of  intercourse  with  the 
families  of  their  employers  to  instruct  them  in 
the  dogmas  of  their  religion.  The  greatest 
success  that  has  attended  the  efforts  of  the 
priests  in  converting  others,  has  been  during 
the  prevalence  of  the  cholera,  and  especially 
after  collapse  and  insensibility  had  seized  the 
person!  We  know  of  more  than  sixty  Roman 
Catholics  who  have  been  converted  to  the 
faith  of  Christ,  and  joined  Christian  churches 
within  three  or  four  years  past,  in  this  State. 

6.  JVeto  Orleans. — The  Roman  Catholics  in 
Louisiana  are  numerous,  probably  including 
one    third    of   the     population.       Relatively, 
Protestants  are  increasing,  as  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  emigration   from  the  other  States, 
who  care  any  thing  about   religion,  are  Pro- 
testants.   There  are  twenty-six  congregations, 
and    twenty-seven   priests   with   several   con- 
vents, female  seminaries,  asylums,  &c. 

7.  Mobile. — A  splendid  cathedral  has  been 
commenced  here.     This  diocess  extends  into 
Florida. 


CHAPTER    XVtl. 


SUGGESTIONS    TO   EMIGRANTS. 

Canal,  Steam-Boat  and  Stage  Routes  —  Other  Modes  of 
Travel- — Expenses  —  Roads,  Distances,  &c.,  &c. 

IN  the  concluding  chapter  to  this  GUIDE,  it 
is  proposed  to  give  such  information  as  is 
always  desirable  to  emigrants  upon  removing, 
or  traveling  for  any  purpose,  to  the  West. 

1.  Persons  in  moderate  circumstances,  or 
who  would  save  time  and  expense,  need  not 
make  a  visit  to  the  West,  to  ascertain  partic- 
ulars previous  to  removal.  A  few  general 
facts,  easily  collected  from  a  hundred  sources, 
will  enable  persons  to  decide  the  great  ques- 
tion, whether  they  will  emigrate  to  the  Valley. 
By  the  same  means,  emigrants  may  determine 
to  what  State,  and  to  what  part  of  that  State, 
their  course  shall  be  directed.  There  are 
many  things  that  a  person  of  plain,  common 
sense  will  take  for  granted  without  inquiry, — 
such  as  facilities  for  obtaining  all  the  necessa- 
ries of  life;  the  readiness  with  which  property 
of  any  description  may  be  obtained  for  a  fair 


372  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

value,  and  especially  farms  and  wild  land; 
that  they  can  live  where  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  others  of  similar  habits  and  feelings  live; 
and  above  all,  they  should  take  it  for  granted, 
that  there  are  difficulties  to  be  encountered  in 
every  country,  and  in  all  business;  —  that 
these  difficulties  can  be  surmounted  with 
reasonable  effort,  patience  and  perseverance, 
and  that  in  every  country,  people  sicken  and 
die. 

2.  ^Having  decided  to  what  State  and  part 
of  the  State,  an  emigrant  will  remove,  let  him 
then  conclude  to  take  as  little  furniture  and 
other  luggage  as  he  can  do  with,  especially 
if  he  comes  by  public  conveyances.  Those 
who  reside  within  convenient  distance  of  a 
sea  port,  would  find  it  both  safe  and  economi- 
cal to  ship  by  New  Orleans,  in  boxes,  such 
articles  as  are  not  wanted  on  the  road,  espe- 
cially if  they  steer  for  the  navigable  waters 
of  the  Mississippi.  Bed  and  other  clothing, 
books,  &,c.,  packed  in  boxes,  like  merchants* 
goods,  will  go  much  safer  and  cheaper  by 
New  Orleans,  than  by  any  of  the  inland 
routes.  I  have  received  more  than  one 
hundred  packages  and  boxes  from  eastern 
ports,  by  that  route,  within  twenty  years,  and 
never  lost  one.  Boxes  should  be  marked  to 
the  owner  or  his  agent  at  the  river  port 
where  destined,  and  to  the  charge  of  some 
forwarding  house  in  New  Orleans.  The 
freight  and  charges  may  be  paid  when  the 
boxes  are  received. 


SUGGESTONS    TO    EMIGRANTS. 


373 


3.  If  a  person  designs  to  remove  to  the 
north  part  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  to  Chicago 
and  vicinity,  or  to  Michigan,  or  Green  Bay, 
his  course  should  he  by  the  New  York  canal, 
and  the  lakes.  The  following  table,  showing 
the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  canal  at  Albany 
and  Buffalo,  and  the  opening  of  the  lake, 
from  1827  to  1835,  is  from  a  report  of  a  com- 
mittee at  Buffalo  to  the  common  council  of 
that  city.  It  will  be  of  use  to  those  who  wish 
to  take  the  northern  route  in  the  spring. 


Year. 

Canal  opened        Canal  opened 
at  Buffalo.             at  Albany. 

Lake  Eric  opened 
at  Buffalo. 

1827 

April  21            April  21 

April  21 

1828 

1 

1 

1 

1829 

25 

29 

May    10 

1830 

15 

20 

April    6 

1831 

16 

16 

May     8 

1832 

18 

25 

April  27 

1833 

22 

22 

»      23 

1834 

16 

17 

"        6 

1835 

15 

15 

May     8 

The  same  route  will  carry  emigrants  to 
Cleaveland,  and  by  the  Ohio  canal,  to  Co- 
lumbus, or  to  the  Ohio  river,  at  Portsmouth; 
from  whence,  by  steam-boat,  direct  commu- 
nications will  offer  to  any  river  port  in  the 
Western  States.  From  Buffalo,  steam-boats 
run  constantly  (when  the  lake  is  open),  to 
Detroit,  stopping  at  Erie,  Ashtabula,  Cleave- 
land, Sandusky  and  many  other  ports,  from 
whence  stages  run  to  every  prominent  town. 
Transportation-wagons  are  employed  in  for- 
warding goods. 


374 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


Route  from  Buffalo  to  Detroit,  by  water. 


Mites. 

Dunkirk,  N.Y 39 

Portland,    "     ....  18 — 57 

Erie,  Pa 35—92 

Ashtabula,  Ohio,  .  39—131 
Fairport,        "      .  32—163 


Miles. 

Cleaveland,  Ohio,. 30— 193 
Sandusky,  "  .  54—247 
Amherstburg,  N.C.  52—299 
Detroit,  Mich.,.  .  .  18—317 


From  Detroit  to  Chicago,  Illinois. 


Miles. 
St.  Clair  river,  Mich., .       40 

Palmer, 17—57 

Fort  Gratiot, 14—71 

White  Rock, 40—111 

Thunder  Island,  .  .70—181 
Middle  Island,  ...25—206 
Presque  Isle,  ....  65—271 


Miles. 
Mackinaw*. '..  ....  58 — 329 

Isle  Brule,.  1  ...  .75 — 404 

Fort  Howard,  Wis- 
consin Ter.,.  . .100 — 504 
Milwaukee,  W.T.310— 814 
Chicago,  111.,   .  .  .   90—904 


Fron  Cleaveland  to  Portsmouth,  via.  the  Ohio  canal. 


Miles. 
Cuyahoga  aqueduct,         22 

Old  Portage, 12 — 34 

Akron, ,4 — 38 

New  Portage,  ....   5 — 43 

Clinton, 11 — 54 

Massillon, 11 — 65 

Bethlehem, 6—71 

Bolivar, 8—79 

Zoar, 3—82 

Dover, 7—89 

New  Philadelphia,  .  4 — 93 
Newcomers 'town,  22 — 115 
Coshocton,.  .  .  17 — 132 


Miles. 

Irville, 26—158 

Newark, 13—171 

Hebron, 10—181 

Licking  Summit,.  .  5 — 186 
Lancaster  Canaan,  11 — 197 
Columbus,  side  cut, 18 — 215 

Bloomfield, 8—223 

Circleville, 9—232 

Chillicothe, 23—255 

Piketon, 25 — 280 

Lucasville, 14—294 

Portsmouth,   (Ohio 

river), 13—307 


The'  most  expeditious,  pleasant  and  direct 
route  for  travelers  to  the  southern  parts  of 
Ohio  and  Indiana;  to  the  Illinois  river,  as  far 
north  as  Peoria;  to  the  Upper  Mississippi,  as 


SUGGESTIONS  TO  EMIGRANTS. 


375 


far  as  Quincy,  Rock  island,  Galena  and  Prairie 
du  Chien ;  to  Missouri,  and  to  Kentucky,  Ten- 
nessee, Arkansas,  Natchez  and  New  Orleans, 
is  one  of  the  southern  routes.  These  are, — 
1.  From  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh,  by  rail- 
roads and  the  Pennsylvania  canal;  2.  By  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  rail-road  and  stages,  to 
Wheeling;  or,  3.  For  people  living  to  the 
south  of  Washington,  by  stage,  by  the  way  of 
Charlottesville,  (Virginia,)  Staunton,  the  Hot, 
Warm,  and  White-Sulphur  Springs,  Lewis- 
burg,  Charlestown,  to  Guyandotte,  from 
whence  a  regular  line  of  steam-boats  runs 
three  times  a  week  to  Cincinnati.  Inter- 
mediate routes  from  Washington  city  to 
Wheeling,  or  to  Harper's  Ferry,  to  Fred- 
ericksburg,  and  intersect  the  route  through 
Virginia,  at  Charlottesville. 

From  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh,  by  the  rail-road  and 
canal. 

Miles. 

Petersburg, 8 — 221 

Alexandria, 23—244 

Frankstown  and  Hol- 

lidaysburg,  ....    3 — 247 
From  thence,  by  rail-road, 

across  the  mountain,  to 

Johnstown, 38 — 285 

By  canal,  to 

Blairsville, 35—320 

Saltzburg 18—338 

Warren, 12—350 

Alleghany  river,  .  .16 — 366 
Pittsburgh, 28—394 


Miles. 

Columbia,on  theSus- 
quehanna  river,  by 
rail-road,  daily,.  ...     81 
By  canal  packets,  to 
Bainbridge, 11—92 


Middietown, 
Harrisburg,  .  . 
Juniata  river, . 
Millerstown,  . 

Mifflin, 

Lewistown,  . 
Waynesburg, . 
Harni  tonville, , 
Huntingdon,  . 


17—109 
.10—119 
.15—144 

.17—151 
.  17—168 
.13—181 
.14—195 
.11—206 
.  7—213 


376 


PECK  S    GUIDE. 


The  Pioneer  line,  on  this  route,  is  exclusive- 
ly for  passengers,  and  professes  to  reach 
Pittsburgh  in  four  days,  but  is  sometimes 
behind,  several  hours.  Fare  through,  $10. 
Passengers  pay  for  meals. 

The  Good-Intent  line  is  also  for  passengers 
only,  and  runs  in  competition  with  the  Pioneer 
line. 

Leech's  line,  called  the  "  Western  Trans- 
portation line,"  takes  both  freight  arid  pas- 
sengers. The  packet-boats  advertise  to  go 
through,  to  Pittsburgh,  in  five  days,  for  $7. 

Midship  and  steerage  passengers  in  the 
transportation  line,  in  six  and  a  half  days, — 
merchandise  delivered  in  eight  days.  Gen- 
erally, however,  there  is  some  delay.  Emi- 
grants must  not  expect  to  carry  more  than 
a  small  trunk  or  two,  on  the  packet-lines. 
Those  who  take  goods  or  furniture,  and  wish 
to  keep  with  it,  had  better  take  the  transport- 
ation lines,  with  more  delay.  The  price  of 
meals  on  board  the  boats  is  about  thirty-seven 
and  a  half  cents. 

In  all  the  steam-boats  on  the  Western  wa- 
ters no  additional  charge  is  made  to  cabin  pas- 
sengers for  meals; — and  the  tables  are  usually 
profusely  supplied.  Strict  order  is  observed, 
and  the  waiters  and  officers  are  attentive. 

Steam-boat  route  from  Pittsburgh  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio. 


Miles. 

Middletown>  Pa 11 

Economy,       "...   8—19 
Beaver  "...  10—29 

Georgetown,"    ...13 — 42 


Miles. 

Steubenville,  Ohio,. 27 — 69 
Wellsburgh,  Va.,  .  .  7—76 
Warren,  Ohio, ....  6—82 
Wheeling,  Va.,  ...  10—92 


SUGGESTIONS  TO  EMIGRANTS. 


377 


Miles. 

Elizabethlown,  Va.,1 1—103 
Sistersville,  "  .34 — 137 
Newport,  Ohio,  .  .27 — 164 
Marietta,  "  ...14—178 
Parkersburgh,  Va, .  1 1—189 
Belpre  and  Blanner- 

hasset  Island,  O.,  4—193 

Troy,  Ohio, 10 — 203 

Belleville,  Va.,  7—210 
Letart's  Rapids,  "  37 — 247 
Point  Pleasant,  "  27 — 274 
Gatlipolis,  Ohio,.  .  4—278 
Guyandotte,  Va.,.  27—305 
Burlington,  Ohio,  .10 — 315 
Greensburg,  Ky.,  .19—334 
Concord,  Ohio, .  .  .  12 — 34f> 
Portsmouth  (Ohio  ca- 
nal),   7—353 

Vanceburg,  Ky.,..20— 373 
Manchester,  Ohio,  16—389 
MayscUle,  Ky.,  .  .11—400 
Charleston,  "  ...  4 — 404 
Ripley,  Ohio,.  .  .  .  6 — 410 
Augusta,  Ky.,  .  .  .  8 — 418 
Neville,  Ohio,  7 — 425 

Moscow,  "     7 — 432 

Point  Pleasant,  "  4—436 
New  Richmond,"  7—443 
Columbia,  ««  15 — 458 

Fulton,  "     6 — 564 

CINCINNATI,  "     2 — 466 
North  Bend,        "    15—481 
Lawrenceburgh,  Tnd. 
and  mouth  of  the 

Miami, 8—489 

Aurora,  Ind.,.  .  .  .  2 — 491 
Petersburg,  Ky., .  .  2 — 493 
Bellevue,  «  .  .  8—501 
Rising  Sun,  Ind.,  .  2—503 
Fredericksburg,Ky.l8— 521 
17 


Miles. 
Vevay,    Ind.,    and 

Ghent,  Ky.,  ...11—532 
Port  William,  Ky.,  8—540 
Madison,  Ind.,  15 — 555 
New  London,  "  12 — 567 
Pethlehem,  "  8—576 
Westport,  Ky.,  7—582 
Transylvania,  "  15 — 595 
LOUISVILLE,  ««  12 — 609 
Shippingport,  through 

the  canal,.  .  .  .  2£ 
New  Albany,  Ind.,l£— 613 
Salt  River,  Ky.,  .  .23—636 
Northampton,  Ind., 18 — 654 
Leavenworth,  "  .17 — 671 
Fredonia,  "  .  2 — 673 
Rome,  "  .32—705 

Troy,  "    .25—730 

Kockport,  "  .16—746 
Gwenburgh,  Ky.,  .12—758 
Evansville,  Tnd.,  .36—794 
Henderson,  Ky., .  .12—806 
Mount  Vernon,  Ind. 28 — 834 
Carthage,  Ky.,  12 — 846 
Wabash  river,  "  .  7—853 
Shawneetvwn,  111.,  11 — 864 
Mouth  of  Saline, «  12—876 
Cave  in  F.ock,  "  10 — 886 
Golconda,  "  19—905 

Smithland,    mouth 

of  the  Cumberland 

river,  Ky.,.  .  .  .  10 — 915 
Paducah,  mouth  of  . 

the       Tennessee 

river,  Ky.,.  .  .  .13—928 
Caledonia,  111.,  .  .  31—959 
Trinity,  mouth  of 

Cash  river,  111.,  .10—969 
MOUTH  OF  THE 

OHIO   RIVER,.. 6 — 975 


378  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

Persons  who  wish  to  visit  Indianopolis  will 
stop  at  Madison,  Indiana,  and  take  the  stage 
conveyance.  From  Louisville,  by  the  way  of 
Vincennes,  to  St.  Louis  by  stage,  every  al- 
ternate day,  two  hundred  and  seventy-three 
miles,  through  in  three  days  and  a  half. 
Fare  $17.  Stages  run  from  Vincennes  to 
Terre  Haute  and  other  towns  up  the  Wabash 
river.  At  Epansville,  Indiana,  stage  lines  are 
connected  with  Vincennes  arid  Terre  Haute; 
and  at  Shawneetown  twice  a  week  to  Carlyle, 
Illinois,  where  it  intersects  the  line  from 
Louisville  to  St.  Louis.  From  Louisville  to 
Nashville  by  steam-boats,  passengers  land  at 
Southland  at  the  mouth  of  Cumberland  river, 
unless  they  embark  direct  for  Nashville. 

In  the  ivinter,  both  stage  and  stearn-boat 
lines  are  uncertain  and  irregular.  Ice  in  the 
rivers  frequently  obstructs  navigation,  and 
high  waters  and  bad  roads  sometimes  prevent 
stages  from  running  regularly. 

Farmers  who  remove  to  the  West  from  the 
Northern  and  Middle  States,  will  find  it  ad- 
vantageous, in  many  instances,  to  remove 
with  their  own  teams  and  wagons.  These 
they  will  need  on  their  arrival.  Autumn,  or 
from  September  till  November,  is  the  favor- 
able season  for  this  mode  of  emigration.  The 
roads  are  then  in  good  order,  the  weather 
usually  favorable,  and  feed  plenty.  People  of 
all  classes,  from  the  States  south  of  the  Ohio 
river,  remove  with  large  wagons,  carry  and 
cook  their  own  provisions,  purchase  their 


SUGGESTIONS    TO    EMIGRANTS.  379 

feed  by  the  bushel,  and  invariably  encamp  out 
at  night. 

Individuals  who  wish  to  travel  through  the 
interior  of  Michigan,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Mis- 
souri, &c.,  -will  find  that  the  most  convenient, 
sure,  'economical  and  independent  mode  is  on 
horseback.  Their  expenses  will  be  from  sev- 
enty-five cents  to  one  dollar  fifty  cents  per  day, 
and  they  can  always  consult  their  own  con- 
venience and  pleasure  as  to  time  and  place. 

Stage  fare  is  usually  six  cents  per  mile,  in 
the  West.  Meals,  at  stage-houses,  are  thirty- 
seven  «.nd  a  half  cents. 

Steam-boat  Fare^  including  Meals. 

From  Pittsburgh  to  Cincinnati, ..  „ . .  $10 

"     Cincinnati  to  Louisville, 4 

"     Louisville  to  St.  Louis, 12 

And  frequently  the  same  from  Cincinnati  to 
St.  Louis, — varying  a  little,  however. 

A  deck  passage,  as  it  is  called,  may  be  rated 
as  follows: — 

From  Pittsburgh  to  Cincinnati,    $3 

"     Cincinnati  to  Louisville, 1 

•"     Louisville  to  St.  Louis, 4 

The  deck  for  such  passengers  is  usually  in 
the  midship,  forward  of  the  engine,  and  is 
protected  from  the  weather.  Passengers  fur- 
nish their  own  provisions  and  bedding.  They 
often  take  their  meals  at  the  cabin  table,  with 
the  boat-hands,  and  pay  twenty-five  cents  a 
meal.  Thousands  pass  up  and  down  the  riv- 
ers as  deck  passengers,  especially  emigrating 


380  PECK'S  GUIDE. 

families,  who  have  their  bedding,  provisions 
and  cooking  utensils  on  board. 

The  whole  expense  of  a  single  person  from 
New  York  to  St.  Louis,  by  the  way  of  Phila- 
delphia and  Pittsburgh,  with  cabin  passage  on 
the  river,  will  range  between  $40  and  $45; — 
time  from  twelve  to  fifteen  days. 

Taking  the  transportation  lines  on  the  Penn- 
sylvania canal,  and  a  deck  passage  in  the 
steam-boat,  arid  the  expenses  will  range  be- 
tween $20  and  $25,  supposing  the  person  buys 
his  meals  at  twenty-five  cents,  and  eats  twice 
a  day.  If  he  carry  his  own  provisions,  the 
passage,  &.C.,  will  be  from  $15  to  $18. 

The  following  is  from  an  advertisement  of 
the  Western  Transportation,  or  Leech's  line, 
from  Philadelphia: — 

Miles.          Days.  Fare. 

Fare  to  Pittsburgh, 400 ....    6£ .... $6  00 

«*      Cincinnati,    ....    900.  ...    8^ ....     8  50 

"      Louisville, 1050.  ...    9^  ....    9  00 

"      Nashville, 1650  ....  13^  ....  13  00 

"      St.  Louis,  .  .  .  .  .  1750 ....  14   ....  13  00 

The  above  does  not  include  meals. 

Packet-boats  for  Cabin  Passengers  (same  line.} 

Miles.  Days.  Fare. 

Fare  to  Pittsburgh, ....    400 5 .f  7  00 

"       Cincinnati,  ....    900 8.  ...     17  00 

"      Louisville, 1050 9.  ...    19  00 

"      Nashville,  ...  .1650 13....    2700 

"      St.  Louis, 1750 13....    2700 

Emigrants  and  travelers  will  find  it  to  their 
interest  always  to  be  a  little  skeptical  rela- 


SUGGESTIONS    TO    EMIGRANTS.  381 

tive  to  statements  of  stage,  steam  and  canal- 
boat  agents,  to  make  some  allowance  in  their 
own  calculations  for  delays,  difficulties  and 
expenses  and  above  all,  to  feel  perfectly  pa- 
tient and  in  good  humor  with  themselves,  the 
officers,  company,  and  the  world,  even  if  they 
do  not  move  quite  as  rapid  and  fare  quite  as 
well  as  they  desire, 


GOULD,  KENDALL  &  LINCOLN, 

PUBLISHERS,     BOOKSELLERS,    AND     STATIONERS, 
59    Wtt*!tiHffton    Street....]BOST'OJY. 


G.,  K.  &  L.  keep  a  general  assortment  of  Books  in  the  various 
departments  of  Literature,  Science  and  Theology.  Among  the 
many  valuable  worka  which  they  publish,  are  the  following  for 
SCHOOLS: 

NEW    WORK. 

THE  AMERICAN  EXPOSITOR,  OR  INTELLECT- 
UAL DEFINER.  Designed  for  the  use  of  Schools.  By 
R.  CLAGGETT,  A.  M.,  late  principal  of  Central  High 
School,  Providence.  Second  edition. 

Although  this  work  has  been  published  hut  a  few  months,  a  large 
edition  ha*  been  called  for,  having  been  introduced  into  many  of  the 
first  schools  in  New  England. 

$3=From  among  the  many  recommendations  received,  we  select 
the  following : 

At  a  meeting  of  the  School  Committee  of  the  City  of  Piovidence, 
holden  at  the  Council  Chamber,  on  Thursday,  the  2bth  of  May,  1836, 
the  following  vote  was  passed  unanimously : 

"  Voted,  That  the  hook  recently  published  by  Rufus  Clagget,  Esq., 
entitled  'The  American  Expositor,  or  Intellectual  Detiner,'  be  intro- 
duced into  all  the  public  Writing  Schools  in  this  city." 

A  true  copy,  Attest,  WM.  APLIN,  Snc'y. 

"  The  American  Expositor,  or  Intellectual  Dcfiner,"  having  come 
under  my  notice,  I  take  pleasure  in  saying,  that  I  deem  it  a  valuable 
acquisition  ItJ  our  school  classics;  and  shall  be  happy  to  do  what  1 
can  to  facilitate  its  general  introduction  into  schools. 

SAMUEL  A1SGELL, 

Principal  of  Seekonk  Seminary,  Providence. 

1  think  "  The  American  Expositor"  well  calculated  to  answer  the 
intended  purpose  of  its  author. 

C.  SOULE  CARTER, 
Young  Ladies'  High  School,  Union  St.,  Providence. 

WAYLAND'S  ELEMENTS  OF  MORAL  SCI- 
ENCE. Abridged,  and  adapted  to  the  Use  of  Schools 
and  Academies,  by  the  Author,  FRANCIS  WAYLAND, 
D.  D.,  President  of  Brown  University,  and  Professor  of 
Moral  Philosophy. 

The  publishers  would  respectfully  request  the  attention  of  Teach- 
ers and  School  Committees  to  this  valuable  work  ;  it  has  received 
the  unqualified  approbation  of  all  who  have  examined  it;  and  it  is 
believed  admirably  calculated  to  exert  a  wholesome  influence  on  the 
minds  of  the  young.  Such  an  influence  as  will  be  likely  to  lead 
them  to  the  formation  of  correct  moral  principles. 


Works  published  by  Gould,  Kendall  8f  Lincoln. 

ROMAN  ANTIQUITIES  AND  ANCIENT  MY- 
THOLOGY. By  CHARLES  K.  DILLAWAY,  A.  M., 
Principal  in  the  Boston  Public  Latin  School.  Illustrated 
by  elegant  engravings.  Third  edition,  improved. 

BLAKE'S  NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  New  edi- 
tion, enlarged.  Being  Conversations  on  Philosophy,  with 
the  addition  of  Explanatory  Notes,  Questions  for  Examin- 
ation and  a  Dictionary  of  Philosophical  Terms.  With 
twenty-eight  steel  engravings.  By  Rev.  J.  L.  BLAKE, 
A.  M. 

BLAKE'S  FIRST  BOOK  IN  ASTRONOMY.  De- 
signed for  the  Use  of  Common  Schools.  Illustrated  by 
steel  plate  engravings.  By  Rev.  J.  L.  BLAKE,  A.  M. 

FIRST  LESSONS  IN  INTELLECTUAL  PHILOS- 
OPHY; or,  a  Familiar  Explanation  of  the  Nature  and 
Operations  of  the  Human  Mind.  Second  edition.  Edited 
by  Rev.  SILAS  BLAISDALE.  One  volume,  12mo.  360 
pages. 

YOUNG  LADIES'  CLASS  BOOK.  A  Selection  of 
Lessons  for  Reading,  in  Prose  and  Verse.  By  EBENE- 
ZER  BAILEY,  A.  M.,  Principal  of  the  Young  Ladies' 
High  School,  Boston.  Thirteenth  stereotype  edition. — 
ICJ2" Price  reduced. 

PALEY'S  THEOLOGY.  Eighth  edition,  illustrated 
by  Forty  Plates,  and  Selections  from  the  Notes  of  Dr. 
Paxton,  with  additional  Notes,  original  and  selected,  for 
this  edition,  with  a  Vocabulary  of  Scientific  Terms.  Ed- 
ited by  an  eminent  physician  of  Boston. 

CLASS  BOOK  OF  NATURAL  THEOLOGY;  or, 

the  Testimony  of  Nature  to  the  Being,  Perfections  and 
Government  of  God.  By  the  Rev.  HENRY  FERGUS; 
revised,  enlarged,  and  adapted  to  Paxton's  Illustrations; 
with  Notes,  selected  and  original,  Biographical  Notices, 
and  a  Vocabulary  of  Scientific  Terms.  By  CHARLES 
HENRY  ALDEN,  A.  M.,  Principal  of  the  Philadelphia 
High  School  for  Young  Ladies. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 
917.7P33N2  C001 

A  NEW  GUIDE  FOR  EMIGRANTS  TO  THE  WEST,  C 


3011 


